The Adventures of Clark Kent
by denyz
Summary: This is the story of the last Kryptonian, who, with the help of the people he loves and cares for, eventually becomes the world's greatest hero: Superman. Set in my own universe. A little bit of every genre. Cover by Gigi Kiersten.
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

**Hi. I just wanted to say that this is my second story I write in English, or.. second story I write at all.**

 **I would love for you to write a review, if you would be so kind, to know what to change and what direction would you like the story to take.**

 **This story will be my take on the teenage life of Clark Kent, from learning that he can lift a tractor with his pinky finger to becoming the Earth's mightiest hero, Superman.**

 **English is not my first language, so I'm sorry if I've made some grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Superman, it wouldn't end well otherwise.**

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Chapter 1 - The Baby (Prologue)

"We could always adopt a child," says Jonathan while trying to comfort Martha after yet another unsuccessful attempt to have a baby.

They were coming home from the doctor where they discored the crushing truth. Martha was infertile.

Jonathan and Martha always wanted to have a child. Ever since their wedding, they dreamed of having a family.

But now, seeing it was almost 10 PM, Jonathan just wanted to go home and sleep next to his wife in a loving embrace.

"You're probably right, Jonathan. There are so many poor children in need of a family," said Martha after a few seconds. You could see in her expression that she was sad. Not only for her, but for her family. For Jonathan. For the baby they are never going to ha-

They were both ripped out from their thoughts at the sound of a huge crash not too far from them.

"What in the-"

Jonathan wasn't able to finish his thought, as Martha cut him off.

"Jonathan, we have to go there! We have to see if there wasn't anyone. People could be hurt!" said Martha with determination, thought Jonathan could see the fear in her eyes.

"There probably aren't any people, what would anyone be doing so late at night in a cornfield?" asked Jonathan, a little confused. He really just wanted to go home. He was tired.

"Jonathan!" hissed Martha sharply.

"Alright, alright."

After Jonathan finally gave in, they turned around and went into the direction of where the sound was heard.

When they came to the cornfield, the sight shocked them.

It didn't look man-made. It looked extraterrestrial. A spaceship. Even if he was almost 30 yards away from it, there was no mistaking. It was a spaceship. Jonathan moved carefully, he didn't want to activate any defense mechanisms the ship might have, but he couldn't help but be a little curious. He took a good look at the ship.

The ship ship was black, though there was a white ‚S' symbol on the front. The shape of the ship itself was unfamiliar.

‚ _Duh, Jonathan. It's alien,'_ thought Jonathan.

The best description Jonathan could give is that it had curves. Not the sharp edges today's aircrafts, and even spaceships, had.

"Jonathan, what is it?" asked Martha as she came over to Jonathan, the fear and worry in her voice evident.

Jonathan was struck. He could think, but he found out he wasn't able to say anything.

Finally, after a few seconds, he was able to say something.

"It l-looks like a-a s-s-spaceship. Oh God, Martha. A spaceship," came out, even though Martha was already next to him, just as dumstruck as he.

There was a weird sound coming from the ship.

"Jonathan, can you hear it?" asked Martha.

"Hear what?" asked Jonathan, confused. He didn't hear anything.

"Come on!" yelled Martha.

"Martha, wait!" Jonathan shouted, but it was to no avail, as Martha was already running to the spaceship.

When she arrived next to the spaceship, all the words died in her throat. Well, alien spaceship is one thing. But what is in that ship surprised even her.

"Martha, what the hell? It could be dangerous! It could have some defense mechanisms! It could be radioactive! For God's sake, Mar-" Jonathan was cut off at the sight before him. He went speechless just as Martha did a few seconds ago.

There was a baby. There was a goddamn baby in the ship. A boy, apparently.

He looked no more than a year and a half old, though it was probably less. He had a dark, black hair with a little curl on its forehead. He was wrapped in something red, it looked like a blanket, though the material seemed to be different. She didn't pay much attention to it. She was focused on the little boy. When he looked at Martha, he immediately stopped crying and reached his small hands toward her.

Martha couldn't help but smile, though she was still a bit shocked. She noticed the baby had the bluest eyes she has ever seen. They were inhuman. Breathtaking. She finally noticed that he was reaching his small hands to her, so she automatically reached for him and took him in his arms.

"Oh my... Jonathan.. our prayers have been answered..," said Martha with a loving voice, as the baby curled up on her chest. He touched her finger and started playing with it and giggling.

Could a baby even giggle at this age?

„...Y-yes, I suppose they-they h-have...but.. can we keep him? It's obviously a boy. _Should_ we keep him? asked Jonathan, obviously still shocked.

„Of course, Jonathan! The poor baby probably doesn't have any family. And if he does, they must be sick. What kind of parents would send their child across the stars in a goddamn spaceship?!" asked now angry Martha. She couldn't even begin to think about the story of this cute baby.

Jonathan gave out a long sigh, though she could see that he was smiling.

„Well, I suppose you're right," said Jonathan, finally.

"But.. what do we name him? I don't suppose he does have a name," said Martha.

Jonathan wanted to say something, but he was cut off by Martha's pained yell.

„Martha?! What happened?!" asked Jonathan. He looked at her hand and saw that the finger the boy was playing with was broken. The baby broke her finger. But how?

As they both looked at the boy, he seemed to realize he did something wrong. He gave them almost an apologetic look. How could a baby like this be so strong?

„Jonathan... how can he be so strong?" asked Martha, surprised, with a hint of pain in her voice. She tried to keep her voice as calm as possible for the sake of the baby, but Jonathan could still hear it.

„I don't know. But we found him. And he is ours, now. Whatever the obstacles are, we will get through them. Right?" asked Jonathan.

Martha looked at him and smiled.

„Right."

She kissed the boy slowly on the forehead and felt salt. From tears.

This baby was loved. And it must've pained his parents to send him here. What happened? Why did they send him here? Whatever happened, it must've been terrible. Otherwise they wouldn't have sent him here if he was loved.

„So.. what do we name him?" asked Jonathan, taking Martha out of her thoughts.

Martha thought about it. _‚What do we name him?'_ Just then, an idea struck her.

„How about.. Clark?" asked Martha, while looking at the baby, and then at Jonathan. The baby's face lit up, somehow. Like the name seemed familiar.

"After your maiden name?" asked Jonathan, a little confused.

"Sure, why not? Clark Kent," said Martha. Just then, the baby looked at Martha and started blabbing excitedly.

„Jonathan, look! He likes it!" said Martha.

Jonathan looked at the baby. He really likes it.

"Alright, it does have a nice ring to it, I suppose. We can decide on the middle name later, if we give him any. Why did we decide on the name here, anyway? We have to get him out of here," said Jonathan as he moved to the truck. He will have to find a way to get this ship to the storm cellar or something. It can't be here.

As they came into the car, Martha wrapped the baby.. Clark, into a blanket. He snuggled into it and fell asleep.

And, so... they went home. This time, it's not just as husband and wife. This time, it's as a father and a mother.

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 **I rewrote this chapter, as I noticed that the original one was... well, let's just say that it wasn't very good.**

 **See ya around :)**


	2. Chapter 2 - Math

**Hi. Thank you very much for the reviews, I really appreciate it. Here's another chapter, this takes place about 15-16 years after the first one which was basically a prologue.**

 **I don't own Superman, that wouldn't end well.**

 **As I said before, English is not my first language, so please, if there are any grammar errors or any other mistakes, feel free to correct me.**

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Chapter 2 - Math

A 16-year old Clark woke up at the sound of his alarm clock. Groggily, he opened his eyes and checked the time. 6:30. He ran a hand over his face and sighed loudly. Another day at school. 'Learning' another boring stuff he already knows. The only thing he enjoys is probably Math, though it's still too easy for him.

He slowly got out of bed and went downstairs only in his pajamas.

He saw his father sitting at the table, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. When he heard his son coming downstairs, he looked up from the paper and smiled.

"Mornin', son. How'd you sleep?" asked Clark's father, Jonathan.

"Same old, same old.. a few more hours would have been welcomed, though," smiled Clark. Clark was always a sleeper. Although he found out he didn't need much sleep, he still enjoyed it.

Jonathan chuckled and went back to reading his newspaper. Clark noticed his mom wasn't in the kitchen.

"Where's Ma?" asked Clark as he looked around the kitchen.

Jonathan looked from his paper again. "She's doing some chores. I've already finished mine."

Clark nodded and made his way over to the refrigerator. He opened it and took out a bottle of orange juice. He opened it and went to drink it, but just as he was about to do it, his mother came to the kitchen.

"Mornin', honey. We use glasses in this house, you know?" chuckled Martha.

"Right," said Clark as he took a glass from the shelf and poured some juice into it.

When he finished drinking it, he looked at the clock. 7:00. He should probably go to school or he'd have to use his powers to get there. He didn't like using his powers in the public. Chores are one thing, running to school at the speed of sound is another one.

"I better go, don't wanna be late," said Clark as he supersped to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, then to his bedroom where he put some clothes on (jeans and a white t-shirt), took his backpack and ran came downstairs once again.

"16 years and I still can't get used to it," said a chuckling Jonathan while Martha only nodded with a smile.

"I don't think neither of us will ever get used to it. Alright, we'll talk about it after school, love you," said Clark as he opened the door and looked back at his parents.

"Love you too, sweetheart," waved Martha. Jonathan just smiled at him and said, "Love you too, son."

When Clark came to school, he immediately spotted his best friends. Pete Ross, Chloe Sullivan and Lana Lang. Clark had a crush on Lana a few years back, they've even given it a try, but they figured out they were better off as friends. Lana knew about his powers and promised him not to tell anyone.

' _It's not my secret to tell, Clark. If you don't want me to tell anyone, I won't tell anyone,'_ she said. Clark smiled at the memory. Lana's a good person.

He went to his friends, who, when they spotted him, immediately beamed and waved at him.

"Hey, Clark," said Pete.

"Hey, Pete. Chloe, Lana," said Clark as he smiled at them.

"Hey, Clark," said Chloe and Lana at the same time. All of them chuckled, this happens a lot. Chloe and Lana are like sisters. They always have been.

"What's the first period?" asked Lana.

"Math," Clark immediately answered. He really liked Math, though most of the time, he just sat there doing nothing in particular.

"You and your photographic memory…" chuckled Chloe as she shook her head.

They all chuckled as they went to their first period. They came there just in time – the bell rang the moment they entered the classroom. Each took their seats. Clark, as usually, sat in the back, while Lana, Chloe and Pete sat in the front.

The door opened and their teacher, Mrs. Adams, came in with someone in tow.

"Good morning, class. I would like you to introduce our newest student. This is Sarah Wilson. She's just moved here."

Clark took a good look at her. She was beautiful. Light brown hair, beautiful blue eyes, full lips, olive skin and her curves, God, those curves.

' _For God's sake, Kent, get a grip. You were not raised this way,'_ Clark mentally scolded himself.

She was around 5'4. Clark couldn't help but smile. He was like a giant compared to her. Well, actually, he was like a giant compared to almost anyone. At 6'4" and 225 pounds, he was a literal giant. And he was only 16! Safe to say, no one ever tried to bully him. Clark came back to reality when Mrs. Adams spoke again.

"Sarah, honey, find a place to sit, will you?"

"Of course, Mrs. Adams. Thank you," she smiled at her.

' _God, that smile,'_ thought Clark.

He came back to reality once more when she sat next to him. She looked at him and smiled.

"Hi, I'm Sarah.. as you already know."

"Um, yeah, hi. I'm Clark. Clark Kent," said Clark as he smiled at her.

Her smile got wider when she said, "It's nice to meet you."

They didn't have a chance to talk much more, because Mrs. Adams started teaching a new theme, something Clark learned when he was 5. Safe to say, he didn't pay much attention to it. He wondered about his abilities. He had them since he was a child. Why did he have it? What was their source? He gets stronger and faster every day, he feels it. Are strength and speed the only abilities he will have? Will he have some other abilities as well? Again, why did he have them? He wondered for about 20 minutes, until he heard some muffled voice. Well, the voice wasn't muffled, he just ignored it, so it sounded muffled to him.

"..-ent. Mr. Kent. Clark. Clark! CLARK!" he came back to reality once more. He forgot where he was for a second. He looked at Mrs. Adams who looked a bit worriedly at him, but when she saw he was focusing on her again, she smiled at him.

"Clark, can you solve this equation?" she asked.

Clark looked at the board and answered immediately, without thinking.

"274.3879."

She looked at him amazed. She always knew Clark was very smart, but not like this. Even she would have a little problem with solving and equation like this.

Clark looked at his amazed teacher, then around the room. Everyone looked amazed. Including Sarah. It was then he'd realized what had happened.

' _Oh my God…'_

"Clark, would you come see me after the class?" she asked.

Clark looked at her. He didn't know what to expect, but he figured it wouldn't be something too bad.

"Yeah, sure."

"Alright," she said.

Right then, the bell rang again. Clark gathered up his things and got out of the room, but not before he looked at Sarah Wilson once again.

' _Oh, man.. I'm screwed.'_

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 **So, this is the end of the 2nd chapter. I would like if you would review this chapter as well.**

 **5'4 - approximately 163cm**

 **6'4 - approximately 193cm**

 **225 pounds - about 102kg**

 **'Til next time :)**


	3. Chapter 3 - Alien

**Hi. So, here I am again. Thank you for your reviews for the second chapter, I really appreciate it. Here's the third chapter. I gotta say, it's fun writing this story. I really like it.**

 **I noticed that almost no one ever considers that Clark, as an alien from one of the most advanced civilizations in the universe, is extremely smart and intelligent. I didn't want to make that mistake.**

 **As I said before, I don't own Superman. That wouldn't end well.**

 **I would really appreciate your opinion on this chapter. Thank you.**

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Chapter 3 - Alien

Smallville High was not anything special. Just a classic high school. They had their own football team, cheerleaders, good teachers, bad teachers, bullies, nerds, geeks, and so on. The school was pretty big, which is good, because almost every student in Smallville is visiting this school.

After Math, Clark went to his locker. He opened it and pulled out the books he'll need for the next period. He shut the locker and went to see Mrs. Adams, who wanted to see him after class.

As he made his way through the crowd of students, he slowly came to Mrs. Adams' cabinet. He knocked a few times. After a few seconds, the door opened and there stood Mrs. Adams. When she looked up to Clark, who was still a lot taller than her, even in high heels, she smiled and invited him in.

The cabinet wasn't anything special, neither. There were two worktables, one for each Math teacher. The school had only two Math teachers. Then there were four chairs, two for the teachers and two for the guests. There was a laptop on Mrs. Adams' table. As he looked around, he saw there was another student.

„Sarah?" Clark asked, a bit surprised to see her there.

„Oh, hey, Clark," smiled Sarah. Clark made his way to her and sat on the chair next to her.

„What are you doing here?" Clark asked once again. Sarah looked away.

‚ _Is she.. shy?'_ Clark thought.

„I'm taking an.. an IQ test. What about you?" Sarah was still looking at her feet.

„I don't actually know. Mrs. Adams asked me to come here after the class, so.. here I am," answered Clark.

Just as he said it, Mrs. Adams came to the room with 2 papers. They looked like tests. She smiled at them.

„Ms. Wilson already agreed to take an IQ test. How about you, Clark? Would you like to take an IQ test?" asked Mrs. Adams as she handled one of the papers to Sarah.

Clark thought about it. _‚I don't want to get any more attention than I already have. But.. why not?'_

„Eeeh... alright. But.. is this going to be in my record?" asked Clark, looking a bit distressed.

„It doesn't have to be if you don't want to. It can stay just between you, me and Ms. Wilson over here," answered Mrs. Adams with sincerety in her eyes. Clark knew he could trust her. He then looked at Sarah, who just smiled at him encouragingly. He smiled back.

„Alright, I'll take the test," said Clark. Mrs. Adams just grinned at him and gave him the test.

„Okay. So, this particular test will take an hour to finish. I have the next period free, so I'll stay here with you. I already told Mr. Roberts you won't be in his class today. Alright, you can start now, good luck," she smiled at them again.

Clark liked Mrs. Adams. She was a good teacher. Understanding, sincere, a good person. That's a part of why he liked Math. She was nice to him.

Clark finished the test in 10 minutes.

„Mrs. Adams?" asked Clark.

„Yes, Clark?"

„I'm finished."

She looked at him amazed. He looked at Sarah, who has next to him, wearing very much the same expression as Mrs. Adams. That's when he figured it out.

‚ _Shit. You've got to be kidding me. For a person this smart, I'm a total idiot,'_ thought Clark. But, what's been done is done. He stood up and gave the finished test to Mrs. Adams. He smiled at her.

„When will we know the results?" asked Clark.

„Tomorrow. Now, since you're finished, you can either go back to Mr. Roberts' class, or you can just do whatever you want. Though, I'd prefer if you went to the class," said Mrs. Adams, as she stood up as well. She gave him her hand for a handshake, which he accepted. After they shook hands, he gathered up his things and went to the door.

„Bye, Mrs. Adams. Bye, Sarah."

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The rest of the day was pretty good. Nothing out of the ordinary. When he came home, he ate his lunch and went outside, where he knew his father would be. He saw him in the barn, next to a tractor.

„Hey, son. How was school today?" asked Jonathan while simultaneously repairing the tractor.

„It was alright. We got a new classmate today, I took an IQ test.."

„An IQ test, huh? Always knew you were smart. Why did you take it?" asked Jonathan.

„I solved a hard equation within 2 seconds, so.. there's that. I didn't really think, my mind was elsewhere."

„And where the ‚elsewhere' is?" asked Jonathan once again.

„Where do my abilities come from, why do I have them, why am I so different from everyone..."

„Alright.. wait here for a second," said Jonathan as he went inside. He came back after a few minutes with his mom.

„Clark, we... we think it's time to tell you how we found you," said Martha.

Clark looked a bit surprised. „Found me? Don't you mean adopted me?" Clark knew he was adopted, he figured since he didn't look like either of his parents. While Martha had a blonde hair with blue eyes, much different from his own, his Father had a brown hair with brown eyes. He looked nothing like them in his face structure, too.

Martha just smiled. „No, honey. Found you."

Jonathan wrapped an arm around his son's shoulders. Even at 16, Clark was a lot taller than his father.

„Well, it was February 29th, 2000. We were talking about adopting a child when there was a blinding light behind us, in Miller's field. We went to see what happened, and when he came there, we were very surprised," smiled Martha at the memory, „anyway, there was a spaceship. A real spaceship. When we came closer, we heard a sound. It was like a babycry. It was you."

Clark just looked at his parents like they've grown 10 heads with tentacles.

‚ _Are they saying I'm an.. alien? An extraterrestrial?'_

„Are you saying that... that.. I'm an.. alien?" asked Clark, still looking surprised.

„Yes. But Clark, it doesn't matter to us. We love you. You are our son. Nothing will ever change that. We wanted to tell you sooner, but we thought you weren't ready. It isn't every day a person finds out he comes from another civilization."

Clark thought he should freak out. He should be angry with his parents. He should run. He should yell. Yet he couldn't bring himself to do either of it. He understood his parents' reason for not telling him. And he felt very lucky to have parents like them. How many people, after finding an alien infant, would take him to their home? How many of them would take care of him? How many of them would love him as much as his parents do?

„I... thank you. Thank you so much," Clark went to them and gave them a big, bonecrushing hug. Tears started rolling down his cheeks.

„Fo-for what, son? And, pl-please, could you stop bruising my ribs?" asked Jonathan, while smiling.

Immediately, Clark let go of his parents. He looked at them, trying to see if they were hurt.

„Oh, I'm so sorry," said Clark as he looked down at his feet.

„It's alright, honey. But what did you thank us for?" asked Martha, while coming to Clark and stroking his cheek.

„You found me. An alien baby. You took me home, you fed me, you clothed me, you loved me. You gave me a family. And I love you so much. Thank you," smiled Clark.

His mother started crying tears of joy, his father wore a proud smile on his face. He was proud of his son. He knew Clark had every right to run, to scream, to do anything. Yet he didn't. He thanked them. He couldn't be more proud.

„Son, there's more. We have the spaceship in the storm cellar. I tried to opened it when we found you, but it won't budge. I think it's going to open only to you," said Jonathan, while clapping Clark on his shoulder.

„Could you come there with me? I don't want to be alone," said Clark.

Martha looked at her son. Her little boy, who's not so little anymore.

„Of course, honey."

They entered the storm cellar. Inside was something big wrapped in even a bigger sheet. He looked at his father, who just smiled and nodded. He took the sheet off. He didn't know what to expect, but nothing could've prepared him for this.

There was a spaceship. A real spaceship. It was black, but there was a white ‚S' symbol in the front. The symbol looked very familiar, yet he couldn't place it. He couldn't remember where he saw it. He instinctively moved closer to the ship and touched the symbol. The symbol lit up. The ship opened and suddenly, two holograms appeared. A man and a woman, in clothing Clark could only describe as otherwordly.

„ _Hello, Kal-El."_

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 **And here the third chapter comes to an end. I know, I'm a little shit. See you next time :)**


	4. Chapter 4 - Not Alone

**Hi. So, I'm here once again. Thank you for your reviews and kind words, I really appreciate it. Here's the 4th chapter. Please, read and review, I would really appreciate it.**

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Chapter 4 - Not Alone

„ _Hello, Kal-El."_

Clark looked at the man who said it. Or, his hologram, to be exact. The hologram looked so real. It was like the man was standing right in front of him. He was tall, though not quite as tall as Clark is. The sincerity in his eyes shocked him a little. He had brown hair, brown eyes and a beard. Based on his facial structure, Clark had no doubt that the man in front of him was his father. He had the same cheekbones, nose, lips, jaw. If not for Clark's different eyecolor and haircolor, they would've looked like twins. Well, except for that he looked older.

He was wearing some otherworldly clothing. The best description could be that it looked like some kind of a robe. Though it was not exactly a robe. It looked thicker and stronger. Underneath, he could see a part of the ‚S' symbol. The same symbol like the one on the ship. The clothes were black, but the symbol was blue.

„ _Hello, my son,"_ said the woman standing next to him. She had a beautiful voice. Soothing.

Clark looked at the woman. She was truly beautiful. Her black hair and blue eyes complimented her olive skin and her high cheekbones. She wore something similiar to the man, _‚my father,'_ Clark corrected himself. Black kind-of-robe with the blue ‚S' symbol on her chest, though it was smaller and the symbol could be fully seen. The most shocking part were her eyes. The blue in them was almost inhuman. Otherwordly.

‚ _Of course it looks otherwordly, Kent. They are aliens. YOU are an alien,'_ thought Clark.

They were the exact same shade he had.

„Y-you are my.. my biological parents, aren't you?" Clark asked. Suddenly, his tongue felt heavy.

„ _Yes. We are. Well, we are their shadows. Their consciousness. Or an A.I., if you will," said the man._

„ _My name is Lara Lor-Van, and this is Jor-El. We are your parents, as you figured. I always knew you would be just as smart as your father,"_ said the woman, _‚Lara, my mother,'_ Clark corrected himself again.

Clark looked at his parents. They were smiling. He thought they would freak out, although.. what should he expect? They took in an alien baby, some real-looking holograms wouldn't do anything. Clark looked at his father, Jonathan. He smiled and nodded. Clark looked back at his biological parents.

„I have a lot of questions," said Clark.

Both of them just smiled. _„You may ask us whatever you want, Kal,"_ said Jor-El.

„I suppose Kal-El, or Kal, is my name."

„ _Yes, it is. In our tongue, it can be translated as ‚Star-Child.' Quite accurate, isn't it?"_ said the woman with an amused smile. Well, his biological parents had at least a sense of humor. It somehow calmed Clark down, seeing that his biological parents probably weren't bad people.

„Where am I from? Why did you send me here?" asked Clark. The amusement of both Lara's and Jor-El's eyes disappeared. They looked sad.

„ _You come from a planet called Krypton,"_ said Jor-El. Suddenly, the hologram of a world orbiting a red sun appeared. The world had oceans, lands. It looked familiar to Earth's. But Clark noticed it was bigger than Earth. A lot. Jor-El continued, _„a much bigger, much more advanced world than Earth. Krypton was almost 30 light years away from Earth. It was was a world of militaristic, medical and scientific achievement. Our race, Kryptonians, which you belong to, as well, were one of the most advanced races in the entire universe. Kryptonians had 5 guilds, Warrior Guild, Thinker Guild, Laborer Guild, Artisan Guild and Mediator Guild. Each child birthed in the Matrix was assigned to one of these guilds."_

Clark was just standing there, drinking in the informations. Well, at least he knew where he came from. Wait, something didn't add up.

„Wait. Did you say ‚birthed in the Matrix'?" Clark asked.

Jor-El and Lara looked at each other. Jor-El nodded.

„ _Each and every Kryptonian was born in a device called the Birthing Matrix. Parents gave a sample of their D.N.A. The Birthing Matrix would then create a simulation with the combined D.N.A. and based on the simulation, they would ‚modify' the D.N.A. and assign the child to one of the guilds, before the child was even born. We believed Krypton lost something precious – the element of choice. You were the first natural birth in centuries. That's why we risked so much to save you,"_ said Lara.

„Save me? Why? What happened to Krypton?" asked Clark.

„ _Krypton had an unstable core. The core was made out of elements such as Uranium, as humans call it. I found out that Krypton was going to explode. I tried to convince the Kryptonian Law Council to evacuate the planet, but they wouldn't listen. They didn't believe me. No one believed me. Except for your mother. We knew we didn't have much time. I couldn't save myself nor your mother, but I could save you. I created a ship, a ship that would carry you to the most acceptable planet we could find – Earth,"_ said Jor-El.

„So.. I'm alone. I'm the last Kryptonian," said a sad Clark. He thought he was ready to know who he really was, but nothing could prepare him for this. He was alone. The last.

„ _Oh, my son, you are not alone. You are never alone. You are not just a Kryptonian. You are a human, as well. You are the bridge between two worlds. Or you will be. Humans have a lot of potential, Kal. They only lack the light to show them the way. We believe you can be that light, Kal. You can inspire them. You can give them hope. That's what the symbol means,"_ said Lara.

„What symbol?" asked Clark.

Lara just smiled and looked at the ‚S' symbol on the ship.

„ _The symbol of the House of El. The Kryptonian symbol for hope."_

Clark looked at the symbol. Wow. That's a lot to take in.

„I have one more question... why am I so.. different... from people of Earth?"

Lara looked at Jor-El, who just smiled.

„ _Kryptonians are evolutionaly evolutionary evolved millions of years ahead of humans. The Kryptonian D.N.A. is incredibly complex, so complex, in fact, that only the Birthing Matrix could decode it. As I know you've noticed, Krypton was a bigger planet with much greater gravity than that of Earth's. Kryptonians were forced to evolve their muscles and bones to extreme density, just so they can handle the gravity of Krypton. Our planet was also orbiting around a red sun, Rao, as we called it. When we sent you to Earth, we knew you would have abilities. You would be a god among men,"_ said Jor-El.

Lara continued.

„ _Every one of your individual cells, be it bones, muscles, skin, brain tissue, or internal organs, absorb the radiation of Earth's white sun. Your cells convert it to energy, which in turn gives you your abilities. Among the abilities are superior strength, speed, durability, vision abilities, heat vision, much stronger senses, the power of flight and much, much more."_

„W-wait.. are you saying that the abilities I already have are but a friction of those I will eventually develop?" asked Clark, surprised.

„ _Yes. By the time you are mature, which, by Kryptonian standarts, is 18 Earth years, you will develop all of the abilities your mother mentioned. You don't need to be afraid, my son. We will be here to teach you how to control them, and I'm sure your adoptive parents will help you with them as well. Know this, Kal-El. Your abilities are far superior to that of humans. I must ask you to use your powers well and wisely,"_ said Jor-El.

„You don't need to worry. I would never use my powers only for personal gain," said Clark.

All four of his parents smiled.

„We did a good job raising him, Jonathan," said Martha. Jonathan looked at her, smiled and hugged her.

„We certainly did, Martha."

„ _Whenever you need us, Kal, we will be here. You only need to touch the symbol of hope. We love you, son. And don't forget – you are not alone,"_ said Lara.

Clark smiled at them and nodded. The holograms disappeared and Clark just stood there for a minute. He then turned around and looked at his parents, who looked proud. He went over to them and hugged them.

„I'm not alone."

* * *

 **Alright, this is all for chapter 4. I'll post the next chapter within the next few days.. I hope.**

 **A.I. - Artificial Intelligence**

 **'Til next time :)**


	5. Chapter 5 - Overload

**Hi. So, this is the new chapter. I hope you'll like it. Thank you for your reviews on the 4th chapter, I really appreciate it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman, it wouldn't end well.**

* * *

Chapter 5 - Overload

Clark was distracted at school. It was Math now. He didn't pay attention to Mrs. Adams, nor anyone else, for that matter. The only thing on his mind were his biological parents and what they said to him. He was the last survivor of an alien race. He was sent here so he could live. And most importantly, even though there are no other Kryptonians left, he is NOT alone. He has his parents. Well, both sets of them. He has friends. He has people who care about him. And he cares about them.

He came back to reality when he felt a sharp pain in his head. Clark has never felt a pain like this before, though he never felt a pain to start with. He heard everything. He SAW everything. He closed his eyes again and put his hands over his ears. He knew his biological parents said something about developing other powers, he knew he would develop some kind of sensitive senses, but he never thought they would developed MORE AT THE SAME TIME. And he never thought they would put his brain into sensory overload. When Mrs. Adams noticed something was wrong with him, she came to him.

„Clark, CLARK, are you alright?" asked Mrs. Adams, her concern evident. After she asked, every student turned around and looked at him, even Sarah.

But Clark could barely focus on what was happening, let alone answer her. When he opened his eyes, he could see her internal organs. Her lungs. Her veins. Her heart. Her bones. Her muscles. Everything. He closed his eyes again, but he just saw through them. And even though he had his hands over his ears, he could still hear the heartbeat of every single person in the entire school. He quickly stood up and ran. He didn't even bother to open the doors, he just went right through them. Well, let's leave the explanations for later.

He ran and ran, until he found himself outside. Everything then attacked him even more than before. He smelled everything. He heard his dad singing along some song from Katy Perry. He didn't know what to do.

He knew what was happening to him, but he didn't know what to do.

So, he ran again. He ran to the Kent farm, his home. He had memorized the way there, so he knew where to go even though he was looking down to Earth's core. He crashed through the door, his mother yelped.

„Clark, honey, what's going on? Why aren't you in school?" asked Martha. When she noticed the tears in his eyes, she came rushing to him.

„Clark? CLARK?! Honey, what happened?! JONATHAN!" she was panicking, but she was trying to stay calm.

His dad came rushing through the door with a look of panic on his face. He then noticed Clark.

„Clark, son, what's happening?" asked Jonathan gently, though you could tell by the sound of his voice that he was still panicking.

„S-sensory over-overload," Clark managed to whisper.

„We have to take him to the storm cellar. Jor-El and Lara will know what to do," said Jonathan.

Martha nodded.

„Clark, you're too heavy, I need you to stand up. I'll support you, but I can't lift your entire weight, okay?" asked Jonathan. Clark just nodded frantically.

Clark shakily stood up and leaned against Jonathan. With Martha in tow, they came to the storm cellar. Clark shakily put his hand on the ‚S' symbol. The whole ship lit up and the holograms of his parents appeared in front of the Kents.

„ _Hello, my son. Are you alright?"_ asked Jor-El after seeing his son.

„He's saying something about sensory overload, we don't know what to do," said Jonathan, concern, fear and panic evident in his eyes.

„ _We knew this was a possibility, but we could not be sure. As we said before, the powers he has now are but a tip of the iceberg. He will develop other abilities until the age of 18. It seems his body started developing the sensitive abilities, such as hearing, taste and vision abilities,"_ stated Jor-El calmly, though you could see he was a bit distressed as well. A.I. or not, he was a father, and his son was in great pain.

„Is there something we can do?" asked Martha, while drawing soothing circles on her son's back.

„ _We have to get him to concentrate on one thing. He needs to tune out everything else,"_ said Lara before Jor-El even had the chance to say anything.

„Clark, honey.. just focus on me, okay? Focus on my voice, can you do that?" asked Martha gently.

Clark just noded, it was obvious he was still in great pain.

„I need you to look at me. I need you to focus on me," said Martha.

„I-I can't. I will see your organs. Your bones. Your blood. Everything," said Clark. Martha could tell he was scared. A lot.

„ _My son, focus. It's all about focus. If you want to see normally again, you have to order it. You have to,_ said Jor-El.

Clark took a few deep breaths and opened his eyes. He saw everything he feared he would. His mother's entire skeleton, her muscles, her bones, her brain, her internal organs. But Jor-El said he had to focus. It's all about focus. FOCUS. He concentrated. Suddenly, he could see normally. But that didn't mean he was out of the woods. He could still hear and smell everything.

„ _Kal, focus on my voice. Focus just on my voice. Tune everything out,"_ said Lara gently. Her soothing voice was guiding Clark, he slowly focused only on her gentle voice. Suddenly, he had it under control. His hearing was still a lot better than before, but it wasn't overwhelming him. He could focus on everything he needed to.

„I'm alright. Everything's okay now. Thank you. All of you. I wouldn't have done it without you," said Clark sincerely with a smile on his face.

„ _That's why we're here, my son. We'll help you with everything you need, as I'm sure your adoptive parents will, as well,"_ said Jor-El while Laura smiled at Clark. Clark looked at his adoptive parents, who just nodded with a smile.

* * *

Clark stayed home for the rest of the day. His mom called to school, saying he wasn't feeling well and that he would be back by tomorrow. They went to pay for the damage he caused when he ran through that door. He didn't think about it at the time.

Clark was reading his favorite book, _Plato's Republic_ , when he heard a knock on the door. He got used to his new powers very fast. He stood up from the bed and made his way downstairs. He opened the door and the sight surprised him.

Sarah was standing there with a smile on her face, though there was still a hint of concern in her blue eyes. She was wearing black skinny jeans, a t-shirt and a jacket. She had a messenger bag on her shoulder as well. Her light brown hair was bound in a ponytail. She didn't wear any make-up, not that she needed any.

„Hey, Sarah. Nice to see you, but what are you doing here?" asked Clark.

Sarah just looked at him and smiled.

„Mrs. Adams gave me the results of your IQ test, I thought I would bring it to you. I also know we don't know each other, we just met yesterday for the first time, but I wanted to ask you if you're alright. It seemed you weren't feeling so good," said Sarah gently.

„Yeah, I know. I'm sorry I scared you, but I'm alright. Would you like to come in?" asked Clark with a smile.

Sarah just nodded. Clark stepped away to make space, so she can come through the door. Sarah just stood there in the middle of the room, taking it all in. Clark sat on the couch and motioned for her to sit down wherever she wants. She smiled and sat down opposite him on a chair.

„So, I have the results for the IQ test for you. I didn't open it, nor did Mrs. Adams, we figured you would want to open it alone," said Sarah while she opened her bag and gave him an envelope

Clark smiled. „Thank you, I appreciate it. So, what did you score?" asked Clark. Sarah grinned and took out her already opened envelope. She gave it to him as well.

Clark looked at the score. 162. He whistled.

„Wow, you are really smart. Congratulations, Sarah," smiled Clark. Sarah beamed at him.

„Thanks, I really appreciate it. What about you? Will you open it? Or will you wait?" asked Sarah.

„I think I'll open it with my parents when they get home," answered Clark. Sarah smiled at him.

„Alright, I should be going. See you tomorrow at school, and I hope you're feeling better," said Sarah with a smile as she stood up. Clark stood up as well. They came to the front door, which Clark opened for her.

„Why, thank you, Mr. Kent," said Sarah with a teasing smile. Clark just laughed.

„See you tomorrow, Sarah," and with that, she was gone.

Clark's parents came home an hour later, they went grocery shopping as well. They found Clark watching TV and eating some leftover lasagna from the day before.

„Hey, son. How are you feelin'?" asked Jonathan as he sat next to Clark on the couch.

„Good. I can still hear a lot better than before, but I'm getting used to it," answered Clark, „by the way, the results of my IQ test came, I thought you'd want to know."

„Of course we'd want to know!" said Jonathan enthusiastically. He stood up and went to Martha. They both came back a few seconds later.

„So, where are the results? We'd love to see them," said Martha with a smile. Clark gestured to the kitchen. Jonathan went there and came back a few seconds later with an envelope in his hands. He and Martha sat to Clark, Jonathan to the left and Martha to the right side. Jonathan gave Clark the envelope.

Clark opened it, pulling out the paper inside. Jonathan's and Martha's eyes grew wide, Clark just shrugged his shoulders.

„Off the charts? Son, do you know what this means?" asked Jonathan.

„Of course I know, but why are you so surprised? I am an alien after all," said Clark with a chuckle. Soon, his parents joined him.

‚ _An alien with the greatest family anyone could ever wish for,'_ thought Clark.

* * *

 **So, this is the end of the 5th chapter. 'Til next time :)**


	6. Chapter 6 - First Date

**Hello. Here I am again with yet another chapter. This is the longest one yet, about exactly 2,547 words, not including the A/N. Please, read and review, I would really appreaciate it. :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Superman, nor Clark Kent, for that matter.**

* * *

Chapter 6 - First Date

After the initial sensory overload, Clark's senses became better than ever before even when he wasn't particularly focusing on them, not that he minds. The rest of the week went well, nothing out of the ordinary, though his mother told him a few times that his eyes looked like they had a shade of red in them. He didn't know what to think about it, but it was always only when he was feeling overly emotional, which doesn't happen that often, so he didn't pay it much attention.

Monday came. Clark woke up and did his usual routine – brushing his teeth, dress up, have a breakfast with his parents and then go to school by foot. He used to go by the bus, but that was a story for another time.

When he came to school, he spotted the usual – cheerleaders, football players, nerds, geeks, ordinary students chatting, stuff like this. He made his way to his locker, but stopped when he heard a male voice.

„Hey, Clark. I heard you haven't been feeling well last week, is everything alright? I tried to catch up with you, but I haven't seen you anywhere," said the voice. Clark the voice immidiately recognized. He turned around and saw Whitney Fordman, Lana's current boyfriend.

Whitney is a classic boy most girls would call ‚handsome'. Dirty blond hair, brown eyes, 6 feet tall with an athlectic build. He is also a football player.

After things went dowhill with his and Lana's relationship, Lana and Whitney got closer than ever, not that Clark minded. Whitney was a good guy. He used to be a bully, but that was a long time ago. He changed. Since then, Whitney and Clark were friends. Clark was happy Lana had someone who cared about her deeply, just as Clark once had. Not that he didn't care about her now, Clark cares about his friends, especially Lana.

„Yeah, but I'm alright now. What you've been up to? I know we haven't seen each other in a while, and I'm sorry, but I didn't have much time," said Clark and smiled at Whitney. Whitney just smiled and shrugged.

„Yeah, I know, it's alright. And nothing out of the ordinary. Though I noticed one thing," said Whitney with a little smirk on his face. Clark was a little confused. What was he talking about?

„What thing?" asked Clark.

„You and the new girl, Sarah... Mileson?" asked Whitney, unsure about her surname.

„Wilson, and no, nothing is going on between us, we barely know each other, man," said Clark. He really didn't know what to think about this. Truth be told, he was attracted to Sarah. A lot. But as he said before, they barely know each other. And he didn't know if she was attracted to him.

‚ _This shit is complicated...'_ thought Clark. Yes, he curses, sometimes. He is an alien, a farmboy, a high school student, but that doesn't mean he doesn't swear. He would say that he is a human, after all, but that would be a little ironic.

„Come on, man. I saw the way she looks at you. And I saw the way you look at her. There is attraction. Not love. Not yet. But there is the attraction. You gotta act on it, or you're gonna miss your chance. Well, maybe she will act on it, because, even I, a male heterosexual, gotta say, that you are far from ugly. Just talk to her, invite her out, just do something, man," said Whitney while looking up at Clark.

Clark thought about it. If what Whitney says it's true, then he surely wouldn't want to miss his chance. He likes Sarah. The decision has been made.

„Alright, alright, will you shut up? I will ask her out," said Clark seriously, though Whitney could tell by the sparkle in his eyes that he wasn't mad at him or anything.

Suddenly, the bell rang and Clark realized he didn't even take his books out of his locker. Damn it.

„Gotta go, CK, see ya later," said Whitney as he stormed off.

„CK? What the hell?" muttered Clark as he went to his locker.

* * *

The rest of the day went quite fast, but then, the Math came. And with Math came Sarah. The period hasn't started yet, so Clark had time to ask Sarah out. He came to the classroom and there she was, the first of the students. The classroom was basically empty except for her. Clark noticed that she was almost always first there. He came over to her. Suddenly, he felt nervous. Like nervous, nervous. He never felt nervous. Why was he feeling nervous?

‚ _For God's sake, Kent, grow a pair. Just ask her out, no big deal. Whitney said she likes me, so she'll probably say yes, right? Right? RIGHT?! Damn it, Kent. Stop overthinking. An alien from an advanced civilization with amazing powers, but when you are in the same room as her, your insides turn into jelly. What the hell?'_

When she looked up at him, she smiled. Clark's words were caught in his throat.

„Hey, Clark. How are you?" asked Sarah.

„Eh, um.. hi, Sarah. And I'm okay, how about you?" asked Clark. _‚Really, Kent? Nervous babbling? You are better than that.'_

„Oh, I'm alright. Though I must say, I'm bored. Math isn't what it used to be," said Sarah with a shrug.

„I know what you mean, it's getting too easy. Look, I'm going to be forward, I wanted to ask you something," said Clark, feeling his cheeks getting a little red.

„Yeah?" asked Sarah, curious.

„Eh.. I, um, I wanted to ask if, if... I don't know.. if you would, maybe.. go.. go out.. like.. on a date with me?" asked Clark. His cheeks were now a shade of deep crimson. He looked at Sarah and saw her smile getting broader.

„Of course I would like to go out with you, Clark! Took you long enough!" she said enthusiastically.

„We've known each other for barely a week, Sarah..." said Clark with a smile.

„I know. Let's say... are you free after school? I know a place. I know I've been here for little over a week, but I like to come there a lot, what do you say?" asked Sarah. Clark just nodded with a big smile on his face.

The bell rung and other students came rushing by, along with Mrs. Adams. Clark and Sarah didn't pay any attention to the class, though. They would always steal glances and smiles at each other.

* * *

After the school ended, Clark and Sarah made their way together, with Sarah in lead, of course. Clark may know every part of the town, but he honestly doesn't have any idea where is she leading him. After about 30 minutes of walking, Sarah stopped. Clark looked around.

There was a big tree with 2 swings. Clark used his x-ray vision to look at the tree, and based on the number of rings in the wood, the tree is approximately 700 years old.

Clark then looked at Sarah, who looked a bit self-conscious.

„I know it's a bit of a weird place for a first date, but.. I come here a lot. To think, especially. It's pretty quiet in here and no one comes here, so we won't be disturbed," said Sarah.

Clark's cheeks reddened and Sarah's eyes grew wide.

„I didn't mean it like that! Oh, God!" said Sarah. She looked mortified. They just looked at each other for a second and then they bursted laughing. Sarah's laugh was beautiful, well, for Clark. He would definitely like to hear more of it.

When they finished laughing, each sat on a swing.

„I haven't had a laugh like this in ages! Thank you, Sarah," said Clark sincerely. Sarah looked a little taken aback, like she wasn't expecting something like this to come out of his mouth. Clark just smiled.

„Well, I suppose you're welcome, Mr. Kent," said Sarah with a teasing smile.

Then, the conversation went as easily as it began. They talked for hours, though it seemed like minutes to them both. They found out a lot about each other, though definitely not everything. Sarah found out Clark likes pancakes with marple sirup. Clark found out Sarah is an expert martial artist. Sarah found out Clark was adopted. In turn, Clark found out that Sarah lives with her uncle and aunt. She didn't tell him why, though, and Clark knew there was a reason behind it. He didn't want to push her.

Sarah knew he was curious about why she was living with her aunt and uncle, and she was grateful Clark didn't push her. She noticed that Clark was a very gentle person. He may have the build gladiators would be jealous of, but he prefered words rather than fists. That's what interested her about him the most. He was a good person, and she didn't know many of them.

He was different, but in a good way.

Clark noticed her thinking, the wheels turning in her head. He gently, very, very gently nudged her shoulder. She shook her head a little and looked at him.

„Is everything alright?" asked Clark.

„Yeah, of course, my mind was just elsewhere," said Sarah. Before Clark had a chance to answer her, his phone rang. He took it out of his pocket with an apologetic smile to Sarah and looked at the caller. His mom.

„Hey, Ma. Is everything alright? Yeah, I know. What do you mean if I know what time it is? Wait, what time is it? Wow, alright. I'll be home in a few. Alright. Love you, too."

Clark hung up and looked at Sarah.

„I'm sorry, but it seems we've been here a bit longer than we thought," said Clark as he looked around. Sarah looked around, too, and noticed that it was already dark. She looked at Clark with a smile.

„Well, it seems so, Mr. Kent. We should probably be going," said Sarah while stooding up from the swing. Though her legs were a bit paralyzed from sitting so long. Her knees gave up on her. Before she even had the chance to prepare for a fall, she felt a pair of strong hands catching her. She looked at Clark.

„Wow. Nice reflexes. Thank you," she said with relief evident in her voice.

„You're welcome. Shall we?" asked Clark as he offered her his arm.

‚ _A gentleman. He didn't mention that,'_ thought Sarah. She took his arm with a smile and they made their way to the town.

* * *

They got carried away with their conversation that they didn't notice they were standing right in front of Sarah's house. When Clark noticed, he looked around and blushed a little.

„It seems we got carried away a little. Anyway, thank you for this unusual date. I really enjoyed it," said Clark.

Sarah smiled, stood up on her tiptoes (while Clark had to bend down a little) and kissed his cheek.

„I hope this is the first of many," said Sarah.

Clark's smile grew bigger.

„Definitely. Good night, Sarah," said Clark.

„Good night, Clark."

* * *

Clark was very excited and happy. His date went incredibly well. He learned a lot of things about Sarah and she liked it, too! Clark didn't even notice he was running until he came to a stop. He looked at the nearest building and saw a billboard. In chinese.

‚ _I'm definitely faster than before... damn it, I need to memorize the map of the world...'_ thought Clark as he started running back to Smallville. After a few minutes, which surprised Clark, he was standing in front of his house. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and looked at the time. 0:30 AM. GREAT. Just great.

He stepped inside and made his way to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out some milk. He opened the bottle and was about to drink it when the voice of his mother startled him.

„We drink from the glass," said Martha. Clark looked at her and he could see she was angry. And also concerned.

„Sorry, Ma," said Clark. Martha knew he meant more than just trying to drink from the bottle. She came closer to him.

„Clark Joseph Kent. Me and your father both know that you are a teenager and teenagers tend to do impulsive things, but come home at 0:30 AM? Do you know how worried we were? And don't you dare tell me that you can take care of yourself. We know you can. You have these powers and stuff. But we are your parents and we care and worry about you," said Martha. Clark just looked at Martha a little puzzled, but he composed himself in a second.

„I know, mom. And I'm sorry. I kind of had.. a date," said Clark while looking down at his feet. When he looked at Martha, he could see that her expression changed. She looked surprised, yes, but happy, too. And don't forget curious. She wouldn't be his mother if she weren't curious.

„What? What's her name? Where's she from? Is she cute? Do you like her? Did you ask her or did she ask you? Is she..." his mom attacked him with questions. That's when Jonathan came.

„What the hell is going on here? And you, young man, where were you this whole time?" asked Jonathan, too, concerned and a little angry.

Martha looked at him with a smile while saying, „He had his first date, Jonathan."

Jonathan got that knowing smile on his face and walked over to his son. He clapped him on the shoulder.

„Well, I guess your mother asked you about a million questions already. Tell us about her," said Jonathan.

Clark smiled and started talking.

„Well, her name is Sarah, and she literally is one of the most beautiful people I've ever met. She, in fact, came over and gave me my test results the day I had the overload. You remember that day, right?" asked Clark. Both his parents just nodded, a little sad. They know Clark is alright now, but they never want to go through anything like this ever again. Nor do they ever want Clark go through anything like this again.

„Well, I had a crush on her, which is a little weird, considering she moved to Smallville about a week ago. Whitney told me she was attracted to me and I knew, and even he knew, that I was attracted to her. So, after my nervous blabbing and blushing, I asked her out on a date. She said yes..." and it went like this for almost an hour.

Jonathan and Martha noticed the way Clark's eyes lit up when he talked about her. The same way Jonathan's eyes lit up whenever he talked about Martha. They both looked at each other and smiled. Clark noticed this and stopped his babbling.

„Hey, why are you smiling?"

Martha and Jonathan just started laughing.

„Go to bed, son. It's late," said Jonathan after he yawned. Clark wished his parents good night and went to his room.

After he changed into his pajamas, he went to sleep. Though he wasn't even tired. He was just happy.

* * *

 **I would like to say that I have practically 0 experience in the dating area, so.. keep that in mind. Thank you for reading.**

 **6 feet - approximately 183cm.**

 **See you another time. :)**


	7. Chapter 7 - Glasses

**Hi, here I am again. I just wanted to tell you that I really appreciate all of your reviews, favorites and follows. So, there's that. Also, I wanted to tell you that I plan to update this story at least one chapter a week. Sometimes more, based on how much time I have.**

 **Please, read and review, I would really appreaciate it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman, but I do own Sarah Wilson. Yayy.**

* * *

Chapter 7 - Glasses

Clark was lazily watching TV, switching channels and doing nothing in particular when something caught his attention.

„ _-for now, we do not know how many people have this ‚Meta-Gene' in their DNA, but we can assure you there is nothing to be afraid of,"_ said the reporter.

Clark thought about it. He knew about this, he had heard of this before. People born with extraordinary powers caused by the so-called Meta-Gene. They are called metahumans, and some of them were pretty powerful, too. Some metahumans used their powers for good, like that Black Canary, for example. The media called them _superheroes_.

Unfortunately, there were some metahumans who didn't use their powers for food. Those were called _supervillains_. A bit cheesy for Clark's taste, but whatever.

Clark knows he will come out in public one day. He just didn't know when. He was afraid of people not accepting him. People are afraid of what they don't undestand. A superhero like Black Canary is something entirely different. She is a human, and she definitely isn't as powerful as Clark. Clark realized something.

For people to trust him, he couldn't wear a mask. There was no chance in hell people wouldn't be afraid of him if he wore a mask. He just didn't know how could he lead a normal life if he didn't wear a mask...

‚ _That's a thought for another day,'_ thought Clark.

He got up, but he started to feel hot. Like, extremely hot. Especially around his eyes. He quickly closed them and made his way outside, he needed to go to the storm cellar. He knew his mother warned him that his eyes were glowing red sometimes. And he probably knew what it meant. Luckily, he had an eidetic memory, courtesy of being a goddamn Kryptonian, so he knew where to go even with his eyes closed.

* * *

He quickly opened the door to the storm cellar, came down, uncovered the ship and touched the symbol. Based on the sound, the ship lit up. He wouldn't know, his eyes were closed. He heard the concerned voice of his father.

„ _My son, what is it?"_

„My eyes... they feel.. hot. Mom told me my eyes glowed red sometimes. Tell me if I'm wrong.. but I'm developing a new power... aren't I?" asked Clark slowly. He was sweating. A lot. He was never sweating.

Jor-El did a quick scan of his body.

„ _Yes. The power to release the stored solar energy from body through your eyes. I need you to listen, Kal. When this power develops completely, which will be in a few minutes, you have to aim for the ship. The Kryptonians metal and glass will absorb it,"_ said Jor-El calmly, though one could see he was concerned for his son. Even though he was an A.I., he was a father first.

Clark nodded frantically. He could feel it. He opened his eyes and saw red. Not a metaphor. He literally saw red. He focused a little and was able to see everything normally, though in a red tone. He immidiately aimed for the ship, and sure enough, the ship absorbed the blast of his new power. He heard the voice of his mother.

„ _You have to focus, my son. Focus. Your body will listen to you if you command it to."_

He tried to listen to the advice. He commanded his body. He focused. And sure enough, the heat stopped. Just to be replaced by his x-ray vision.

‚ _What the hell?'_ thought Clark.

When he tried to focus again to turn off his x-ray vision, the heat vision (yeah, Clark named it already) turned on again.

‚ _For God's sake!'_

He tried to focus again. This time, FINALLY, he was able to see normally. Not red. Not through things. Normally. Though he knew it probably wouldn't be the last time something like this would happen. But how to prevent it?

An idea suddenly struck him.

„Mother, father."

„ _Yes?"_ said Jor-El and Lara in unison.

„The Kryptonian glass was able to absorb the blast of the heat vision," said Clark.

„ _Heat vision?"_ asked Jor-El with a little smile on his face.

„It's my power, I can name it however I want. Not the point. This glass was able to absorb the blast. Can the glass be modified so that I couldn't see through it with my X-Ray vision?" asked Clark.

Jor-El thought about it, after a few seconds, he nodded.

„ _I see where you are going with this, Kal. The glass can be modified and be re-made into lenses. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"_ asked Jor-El.

Clark just nodded. „With these lenses, I would be able to create glasses. That way, when I accidentally turn on the heat vision or the x-ray vision, nothing would happen. The lenses would absorb the heat vision AND my X-Ray vision wouldn't work while I had them."

Jor-El nodded with a smile. The ship began to make some noises. In a few minutes, two thick lenses were in front of Clark. To Clark's surprise, the ship began to scan Clark's face. A few seconds later, a glasses appeared in front of him as well, without the lenses, though. They looked metallic and silver, almost black. Clark liked it. He took the hint and took the lenses and the glasses.

A few seconds later, the lenses were in the glasses. Clark looked at them. They weren't by no means big, but they weren't extremely small, either. They looked modern. Like the glasses people wear these days.

„ _The glasses are also made from Kryptonian metal along with the lenses created from Kryptonian glass with miniature traces of lead, as humans call it, which means you won't be able to see through them with your X-Ray vision. The Kryptonian metal is also virtually indestructible along with the lenses. I thought you would find a use for it,"_ said Lara.

„Wait, I have a question," said Clark. His parents looked at him expectantly. „Both of you were scientists, weren't you?" asked Clark with a knowing smile.

Jor-El and Lara both had a proud look on their faces.

„ _Of course we both were. Where do you think you got that intellect from?"_ asked Jor-El with a teasing smile while Lara chuckled.

‚ _These are some sassy A.I.s,'_ thought Clark. _‚Well, now I know where I got that from...'_

Clark thanked them and made his way inside the house with his new glasses. When he opened the door, both his father and mother stood up from the couch. They looked surprised. The glasses.

„Why on Earth are you wearing glasses, Clark?" asked Martha while inspecting the glasses.

„I developed a new power, and, well... I kinda need those right now," said Clark. Both his parents looked surprised, but curious. He told them about the new power and the reason behind the glasses.

„Oh, okay, then. I guess you will be wearing glasses from now on. They look good, actually. And they mask the inhuman color of your eyes," said Jonathan. Clark got compliments about his eyes ever since both he and Martha could remember.

„Yeah... they are pretty blue, aren't they?" asked Clark with a chuckle.

* * *

The next day at school, Lana, Pete and Chloe immidiately asked him what's up with these glasses. Of course, Lana knew that what he was saying was a complete bullshit, but she didn't pay any mind to that.

„Well, I need glasses now. Do I look bad?" asked Clark. All his friends just laughed.

„You look great. If anyone can look hot in glasses, it's you," said Chloe with a chuckle. Chloe used to have a crush on Clark in elementary school, but she grew out of it.

„Listen to the lady, Clark. You look great in them," said Pete.

They talked for a few more minutes before the bell rang. The first period was Math. Well, at least he would see Sarah again. They hadn't talked since their first date, which was almost a week ago.

As he made his way to the class, he noticed the empty hallways.

‚ _Damn it. Late again.'_

He gently knocked on the classroom door and opened it. He apologized for being late and went to his usual spot in the back. He noticed Sarah and smiled. She looked up at him and smiled as well.

„Hey, Clark. What's with the glasses?"

„Hey. Nah, got them yesterday. What do you think?" asked Clark.

„Hm.. they look good on you. If anyone can look hot in glasses, it's you," said Sarah and Clark had to chuckle.

„What?" asked Sarah confused.

„That's exactly what Chloe said to me like 5 minutes ago," answered Clark while chuckling. Sarah joined him.

„Now, Ms. Wilson, Mr. Kent, this is not a debate club. If you already know these things, talk quietly," said Mrs. Adams. She knew Clark and Sarah were the smartest people in school, even among the teachers, so she could cut them some slack.

Both of them immidiately shut up. Sarah then carefully leaned to Clark and whispered.

„They make your eyes look a lot more gray, though."

Clark looked at her and smiled. They talked like that the whole period.

* * *

When Clark came home, he went to his father.

„Hey, Pa. Need any help?" asked Clark.

Jonathan looked at him and smiled.

„Sure thing, son. Could you lift the tractor for me?" asked Jonathan.

„Well, that's a sentence you don't hear every day..." muttered Clark with a smile. Jonathan heard him, of course.

„Well, it certainly isn't."

When they came to the tractor, Clark carefully lifted it up.

„Wow. It's a lot lighter than I remember it being the last time," said Clark. And he knew why was that. Even if his biological parents wouldn't tell him, he knew he got stronger every single day. He felt it. Every morning, he felt a little bit stronger. He wondered if he even had any limits at all. He will have to be even more careful in the future than he already is.

He just hoped he would be able to live a normal life.

‚ _That's a thought for another day, just like the superhero gig.'_

After finishing his chores, Clark decided he would try and train a little with his new power – he especially needed to learn to control his X-Ray and Heat Vision, so that he could use them without accidentally turning on the other power. Well, to put it lightly, it wouldn't end nice.

„Hey, Pa?" asked Clark.

„Yeah?"

„Would you help me? I'm going to train a little with this heat vision, try to control it and all that," said Clark. Jonathan smiled. He was glad he would have a chance to help his son with his developing abilities. Truth be told, he felt a little left out because of this. That didn't matter now. He had a job to do.

* * *

Well, a mailbox, 7 scarecrows and a gallon of water later, Clark was able to fully control both of his abilities – the X-Ray vision and the heat vision.

„So... you don't need the glasses anymore?" asked Martha. Clark just shook his head with a smile.

„No, I don't, but I think I will wear them anyway. Just to be careful and for one more thing," said Clark.

„And what would that one more thing be?" asked Jonathan.

„Well, as you said before, the color of my eyes is inhuman. I thought about it. You saw the news, right? There are these metahumans and superheroes and supervillains and this kind of stuff now," said Clark. Both of his parents just nodded, don't seeing the point.

„Well, I noticed that some of them are pretty powerful, but they still are not as powerful as me. When I will reveal myself to the world, people will be afraid of me. They won't trust me. Plus, I'm an alien. There is a pretty big difference between an alien and a metahuman," said Clark.

Both of his parents just looked at him, still don't seeing the point.

„You see.. for people to not be afraid of me... I can't wear a mask while ‚superheroing,' .. the mask is what I will have to wear the rest of the time," said Clark. Now, his parents understood.

„I see. You will wear these glasses as your mask? They will recognize you" said Jonathan.

„I will have to think about it some more, but for now, let's just say that I will be able to do this. Somehow. Someday."

„Very well. It's your choice, Clark. We will stand with you no matter what," said Martha.

Clark came over to his parents and hugged them both.

„Thank you. I really appreciate it."

* * *

On the other side of the town, a limousine stopped in front of a big mansion. The door of the limousine opened and out stepped a man, approximately 6 feet tall with a bald head, green eyes, strong jaw and high cheekbones, wearing black business suit with green tie.

His assistant came to greet him.

„It's nice to see you again, Mr. Luthor."

* * *

 **Sooo.. yeah, I decided to put Luthor in here. Yayy.**

 **6 feet - approximately 183cm.**

 **See ya next time.**


	8. Chapter 8 - Birthday

**Hi. I'm here once again. Thank you for your reviews on Chapter 7, I really appreciate it. Here's the new chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it. R &R, please :)**

* * *

Chapter 8 - Birthday

„Dr. Hamilton," said Lex Luthor as he entered the secret underground lab in Smallville, Kansas.

The lab was, as said before, underground. It had the best security system and a state of the art technology. The technology itself wasn't even on the market yet. The lab itself had white, sterile walls with a white floor. It was quite big.

Doctor Hamilton suddenly appeared. He looked in his early to mid forties, already with some gray hair. He wasn't fat by any means, but he wasn't thin either. He had blue-gray eyes and a little wrinkled face, though he was wearing a smile.

He was, of course, wearing a lab coat.

„Mr. Luthor, it is really nice to see you again," said Dr. Hamilton as he shook hands with Lex.

„Thank you, Dr. Hamilton. How are the experiments proceeding?" asked Lex.

Dr. Hamilton smiled. „We were able to discover that the Meta-Gene itself is quite random. There doesn't seem to be any pattern as to who gets the Meta-Gene and who doesn't. So far, it seems, it's very coincidental, though there were cases where the Meta-Gene was passed from parent to child.

„We were also able to find out that the Meta-Gene affects almost every person differently. For example, Subject #022 – Moira Sullivan. She is able to control action of other people with the Meta-Gene. Then there is Subject #031 – Patrick O'Brian, who is able to control his molecular structure, therefore he can stretch his limbs and even shapeshift, though he is not able to change his skin color, eye color, hair color and so on. We have other subjects, but we didn't perform any tests on them. Yet," said Dr. Hamilton. You could see he was excited, but also a little uneasy.

Luthor apparently saw his unease and decided to act on it.

„These are very good news, Dr. Hamilton. I'm glad we are finally getting to something. But you seem a little uneasy, why is that?" asked Luthor.

Dr. Hamilton looked ever more uneasy.

„It's just that... maybe it's not right to experiment on them. Are you sure they gave their permission?" asked Dr. Hamilton.

Luthor thought about what should he say. Dr. Emil Hamilton was an expert in genetics, as well as cytology and biochemistry. He couldn't afford to lose him. If he was doubting, he had to set him on the right track, so that he won't try to leave.

Because if he did try to leave, well.. he would disappear. And not willingly.

„Don't worry, Dr. Hamilton. All of the subjects signed the permission. You can't forget, doctor, that we are helping humanity. You see these supervillains, superheroes, and so on. The world's gone crazy and we have to adapt. There are very powerful metahumans, some are even able to lift cars like it's nothing. Some are invulnerable. We have to prepare. We have to know, that if things got tough, how to take them down. Do you understand?" asked Luthor.

Dr. Hamilton considered his words. Luthor was right – the world has indeed gone crazy. So, for now, he would lock his doubts away and focus on his work.

„Yes, Mr. Luthor."

Lex smiled. „Very well, doctor. Please, feel free to continue with your work, I must go to take care of some business. Goodbye."

They shook hands once again.

* * *

„Goodbye, Mr. Luthor."

„Happy birthday, Clark," said Martha with a beaming smile as she gave Clark a piece of cake. Chocolate. Clark loves cholocate.

Though, it is a bit weird. A cake. At 7 AM?

‚ _Well, there are weirder things. Aliens, for example,'_ thought Clark bitterly.

„Thank you, mom," smiled Clark.. Well, sweet seventeen. Actually, he doesn't know how old he really is, because this is the aniversary his parents found him, February 28th. Well, actually, it was February 29th, but this year isn't a leap year, so his parents decided that they would celebrate his birthday today.

He quickly ate his cake and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek.

„Gotta go to school. See ya later. Love you!" said Clark, who then sped away from the door.

„Love you, too, honey. Enjoy your day!" yelled Martha back. Of course, she knew Clark heard her. She has this super-hearing after all.

When Clark came to school, he was immidiately assaulted by the likes of one Pete Ross, Chloe Sullivan and Lana Lang, all who wanted to wish him a happy birthday.

„So, Clark, how does it feel to be the second oldest one in our group?" asked Lana with a teasing grin. Of course, Lana was the older of them, though only by a few months. Of course, there was a chance Clark was physically older, but that didn't mean anything to him.

„Great, you fairy squad mother," Clark teased. Lana started laughing, as well as Pete and Chloe.

He missed this. He hadn't seen them in so long, in fact. Well, of course he's seen them, but they didn't talk a lot these past few weeks. Between his new developed powers, school [even if you are an alien with a hyperindexed IQ, it doesn't mean school is not time consuming], Sarah [oh, God, they hadn't really talked since their first date more than a week ago, if you don't count her asking about his glasses], chores and learning about his Kryptonian heritage.

Yes, he started learning about Kryptonian culture, customs, as well as language, science, technology and physiology. Now he knows what exactly is going on with his body, after all these years. The ‚lessons' are at least once a day and he liked it very much. He was also learning about other galaxies and everything else about the known universe.

„Clark Kent, the king of teasing," said Chloe sarcastically, though with an amused smile on her lips. Clark couldn't help but notice that she kept glancing at Pete when he wasn't looking. Well, Pete was doing the same. How did they not notice? And most importantly, how didn't Lana notice? Of course, he always knew Pete had a little crush on Chloe, that's best friends for you, but he never even thought that she could have a crush on him. Wow. What else is new?

„Yeah, yeah, I'm the king of teasing, sarcasm and sass. Bow before me, God almighty," said Clark with a mock sigh. They all started laughing again.

„Alright, guys, sorry, but I gotta go, I've got Chemistry right now. See you," said Clark with a smile while waving.

They all said goodbye to him and made their way, because they all had classes now, as well.

* * *

He went to his locker to pick up his Chemistry book and notebook, where he will write down his notes. Not that he needed them. That's eidetic memory for you. As he closed his locker, he heard a heartbeat not far behind him. The heart beat fast, probably because the person was late for class – the bell rung a few minutes ago.

He looked behind him and was surprised who he found. Sarah Wilson herself. When she saw him, she beamed at him and stopped next to him.

„Well, well, well. Ms. Wilson herself, late for class. Now, since I saw this, when can I expect Hell to freeze over?" teased Clark. Sarah punched in mock anger on the shoulder. She winced.

„Damn, Clark. What the hell are your muscles made out of? They are like steel..." said Sarah, still wincing. Clark just laughed.

„Well, you could say that I am a.. man of steel," said Clark with an amused expression. Sarah laughed.

„Of course, Mr. Kent. My man of steel. Now, what are you doing here?" asked Sarah. Clark, of course, didn't miss she said he was HER man of steel. He liked the sound of that.

„School? Oh, yeah. I'm educating, so that I can graduate," said Clark, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Sarah glared at him mockingly, with a ghost of smile on her lips, as punched him on the shoulder again, but much lighter.. this time.

„I am going to Chemistry now, just picked up my book and notebook, what about you?" said Clark, unsarcastically, for once.

„I overslept. Who would've thought that, right? I got History now, so I have to go. And, by the way, we never planned our second date," smiled Sarah.

Sarah really liked Clark. I mean.. how could she not? Yeah, he was sarcastic and he liked to tease, which, of course, Sarah liked, but Clark was also a total sweetheart with the body of Adonis and a chiseled face. And don't forget his manners, either. Mama raised him right.

Clark just smiled, a bit of red coming to his cheeks.

„Yeah, I know, sorry, haven't had much time these past few days. Well, how about you come over and we can watch a movie. Let's say.. Friday?" asked Clark hopefully. Sarah smiled.

„That would be nice. Looking forward to it, already. Alright, gotta go, see ya around, handsome," said Sarah as she made her way. Yeah, weird, but she was not a normal girl. She was indeed something special.

Clark smiled at her.

„I am always around."

Sarah turned around and smiled. She liked that phrase.

* * *

After he came back home and did his chores, it was time to another lesson about his home planet. He came to the storm cellar, uncovered the ship and touched the symbol. He really liked this symbol, when he thought about it. His parents said it is a Kryptonian symbol for HOPE, and also the crest of his family.

The whole ship lit up, as always, and before him appeared the two holograms of his parents.

„ _Hello, Kal. I see it is probably a time for another lesson,"_ said Jor-El with a smile. Even as an A.I., Jor-El was proud of who his son became – a good person. A good person trying to understand the culture of the world he is hailing from, even if the world is long gone.

Clark just nodded with a smile.

„ _Very well. Today, we shall teach you about the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe."_ said Lara.

„That sounds exciting," said Clark.

„ _Because it is,"_ said Lara. Well, talk about sass in the family. _„Also, we would like to congratulate you on your birthday, or should we say anniversary since you came to Earth."_

Clark looked surprised.

„Th-thank you. By the way.. when is my... real birthday?" asked Clark.

„ _Well, considering Krypton's rotation, circulation around Rao... well, if we convert it to Earth's dating system, your birthday is January 8th, 1999,"_ answered Lara.

Well, he is not older than Lana.

„Th-thank you very much," smiled Clark.

Lara just looked at him and gave him a motherly smile, the one only a mother could give her child. His Ma has a smile like this, too.

„ _Of course, son. Now, shall we begin with the lesson?"_ asked Lara with a smile.

„Of course, please. You may begin," answered Clark.

„ _The Green Lantern Corps is basically a police/military force guarding and protecting the entire universe. In the universe, there are hundreds of space sectors, and each space sectors has two of its members guarding and protecting it. Krypton was in the sector 2813, protected by the Green Lantern Tomar-Tu and Dalor. Earth is in the secret 2814, currently protected by Hal Jordan and John Stewart, both currently off-world. The Earth is unaware of the existence of the corps,"_ explained Jor-El.

„How would you know this? The identities of the Green Lanterns and that Earth is unaware of the existence of the corps, I mean," asked Clark.

„ _The ship is very advanced, even for Kryptonian standards – we were the best scientist on the world, after all. Also, the ship has access to, what humans call, Internet, as well as the entire Green Lantern database,"_ explained Lara.

‚ _Well, cockiness certainly isn't a trait my family has,'_ thought Clark with a chuckle.

„Very well, please, continue," said Clark.

„ _The Green Lanterns are able to create constructs using only pure will and imagination via a so-called Green Lantern Ring. Every member of the core has one, otherwise they would not be able to travel through space, communicate with other species and so on,"_ continued Jor-El.

The lesson went for about an hour, where he learned a very interesting things. For example, how Tomar-Re, father of the current Green Lantern guarding the sector 2813, Tomar-Tu, believed Jor-El that Krypton was doomed and went to find a very rare compound called Stellarium, which would be able to stabilize Krypton's core.

Unfortunately, he was too late.

Clark was sad because of this, but he didn't dwell on it very much. At least, he tried not to. He was already on Earth by then, as Krypton exploded a few hours after his departure.

* * *

„CLARK, DINNER'S READY!" yelled his Ma from downstairs.

„COMING, MA!" yelled Clark back, though he was very careful about it. He found out last week that when he yelled at a very high volume, he would be able to shatter glass. Just how many superpowers had he, damn it?

Clark made his way downstairs.

„Hey, son. How was your lesson today?" asked Jonathan. Of course, both of his parents knew about the lessons his biological parents are teaching him. He even told them about some of the lessons. He explained them the Kryptonian culture, customs and stuff like this, they were thrilled. Of course, they noticed that he was somewhat sad about it all.

Well, who wouldn't be sad, when they are talking about a culture no longer existing? Who wouldn't be sad, when they are talking about their planet, their home, which they've never even seen firsthand? Who wouldn't be sad, when they are the last surviving member of their species?

Well, he didn't suppose anyone knows how he feels. Maybe some martian or something, but he really doubts that. He is the last Kryptonian. And he'll always be that last Kryptonian. Or, as Jor-El and Lara say.. the last son of Krypton.

Of course, that didn't matter. He has a family, he is not alone. He has parents. He has friends. He has.. a crush. Of course he has a crush.

And, of course, he has people that care about him greatly.

At least, now he knows when his real birthday is – though he will probably still celebrate the date he came to Earth as his birthday – because, for him, that's when his life started.

With his family.

* * *

 **Well, thank you for reading this chapter, I hope you liked it. Please, write a review. Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, so that I can either fix it or try to fix it :D**

 **Also, I didn't know what date to put there, February 29th is a canon date of when Clark arrived on Earth (at least, it was, if I remember correctly), and January 8th... well, that's my birthday. July 4th sounded too cheesy. :D**

 **As Sarah would say... see ya around :)**


	9. Chapter 9 - The Torch

**Hello, once again. I was in the mood, so I wrote another chapter today. It is a little shorter than usual, though not by much. Please, read and review, I would really appreciate it.**

 **By the way, I also rewrote the first chapter (or Prologue, if you will), so you can go and check it out.**

* * *

Chapter 9 - The Torch

„Clark, honey?" asked Martha as she watched Clark walking to the front door in the morning.

„Yeah?" asked Clark while he looked back at his mother, who, in turn, came over to him.

„Aren't you.. forgetting something?" asked Martha as she gestured to his face.

Clark slowly touched his face, the recognition slowly creeping its way into his eyes. He quickly ran off to his bedroom, where his glasses are.

Clark, in fact, does not need his glasses, but he is using them anyway. They are made out of special Kryptonian lenses with small traces of lead in it, which means that the glasses are able to absorb his heat vision as well as disabling his x-ray vision.

Also, the Kryptonian lenses are also able to change the color of his inhuman eyes to a classic blue-gray color.

He quickly put them on. As he made his way out of the bedroom, he caught something at the edge of his vision. He slowly walked back into the room and stopped right in front of the mirror. If it was possible, he looked even more... muscular than before. And before is meant a few weeks ago, considering he doesn't usually check himself out in the mirror.

He's not a narcissist.

The white t-shirt he was wearing looked a bit tighter than unusual.

„Weird."

„What's weird?" asked Martha as she came upstairs looking for him, since he's been up there for almost 5 minutes.

Clark quickly looked at his mother and then at himself in the mirror. He looked at his mother again and made his way toward her.

„Nothing, nothing. Alright, gotta go. See you later. Say bye to dad for me," said Clark as he kissed her cheek and sped away.

Martha looked at his room and then at the direction of where he sped away. She mumbled under her breath.

„Teenagers... they are always the same, no matter the planet they come from..."

* * *

When he came to school, a lot of people were looking at him strangely. Too strangely, for Clark's taste. He started getting anxious. Did they find out about his powers? Did they find out about his alien heritage? Oh my—

His thoughts were cut short when he heard the familiar, soothing voice.

„Hey, Clark."

He turned around and the sight didn't surprise him in the least. It was Sarah, looking just as striking as always, with blue jeans and a a sweater.

Oh, right. That's why everyone was looking at him strangely. It was March. And he was wearing a t-shirt. He sometimes forgets to put on something warm, like a sweater.. or a jacket, considering he can't feel cold.

„Hey, Sarah," said Clark with his usual, charming smile.

„So.. why the t-shirt? It's a little cold outside, don't you think?" asked Sarah as she took the sight before her. Well, he was wearing just jeans and a t-shirt. And the t-shirt did look a bit tight on him. Not that she minded... you could almost see the six-pack underneath the t-shirt. Or is it an eight-pack? She was brought back from her thoughts by Clark's voice.

„Yeah, I know. I didn't realize it until I was already here. Well, never mind, I guess. So, what you've been upto? Friday's still on?" asked Clark.

Sarah smiled. Of course he wouldn't forget their „date."

„Sure. Your place or mine?" asked Sarah.

„Uh.. I thought we could go to the cinema or something," said Clark. He thought about the date at home, and figured that it sounded all too weird to have a date.. alone.. at his house.. while watching movies. He saw too many „chick-flicks" for that.

Sarah thought about it as well. Well, it doesn't sound bad at all.

„Alright, but only if we can have a large, salty popcorn," answered Sarah. Clark's simle grew bigger. And, unfortunately for Sarah, even more cute.

„Alrighty then, see ya around?" asked Clark. Sarah smiled. She knew that phrase all too well.

„I'm always around."

* * *

„Clark?" asked Chloe, after finally catching up with him in the hallway.

„Yeah?" asked Clark.

„I have two questions for you," said Chloe seriously, though he could see the amusement in those green eyes of her.

Clark knew there was something behind these questions, but he decided he would give it a shot.

„Shoot."

„Alright, first – would you like to write for the Torch with me? I know you've loved writing ever since you were a kid, and you don't do any sports or otherwise any extracurricular activies. So, what do you say?"

Clark thought about it. Yes, he loved writing – it was something that was pretty hard even with his superior intellect. He never even thought of pursuing a writing career, but the more he thought of it, the more he liked the idea. Of course, he would have to start with something small – the Torch.

The decision has been made.

„Sure, I would like that. When should I write the first article?" asked Clark. Chloe's whole face lit up. She really thought he would say no.

„I was almost sure you would say no. Glad I was mistaken. Alright, so.. your first article will basically be an interview," answered Chloe enthusiastically.

„An interview? With whom?" asked Clark, a little confused.

„The smartest girl in school. Which, of course, leads me to the second question I meant to ask you," answered Chloe once again.

Clark knew where this was going. Of course he knew who was the smartest girl in school. Before he had a chance to say something, Chloe beat him to it.

„So, what's going on between you and Sarah Wilson?"

Still, Clark expected this, but he was unable to say anything. He just stared at Chloe for a few seconds.

„The-there's nothing between us, I don't know what you're talking about," answered Clark, finally.

He was a terrible liar. Everyone knew this. Chloe, Lana, Pete, his parents. Hell, Chloe was sure the whole town knew how bad of a liar he was. He didn't look her in the eyes when he answered her, which was an answer of its own.

Clark always looks into your eyes when he is talking to you. It's a manner. And, of course, he was the mild-mannered Clark Kent. A mild-mannered Clark Kent with a tight t-shirt on. Chloe had a little crush on Clark when they were younger, but she got over it. Well, she got over it, just to have a crush on her another best friend, Pete Ross... well...

‚ _Smallville – the soap opera,'_ thought Chloe bitterly.

Back to the present.

„Clark, even you know you are a terrible liar. I saw the looks you give one another. I am pretty sure the whole school can see it. I am one of your best friends, you can tell me anything. So.. I am going to ask you once again.. what's between you and Sarah Wilson?"

Of course she wouldn't drop this, she is stubborn and curious like that. Well, that's Chloe for you.

„Okay, maybe... I had a date with her. And maybe we have another one planned this Friday..." answered Clark.

Chloe just beamed at him.

„You've got a girlfriend! Congratulations!" said Chloe as she hugged him. Clark was confused.

„Hey, hey, hey, Chloe. Hold on. She's not my girlfriend. Not yet, anyway. But I like her. Like.. I like her a lot. And I hope she likes me, too. I don't know where this is going, but I do hope it's going to be good. Now, drop this, and let's talk a little more about the Torch, alright?" said Clark.

Chloe just nodded a few times, but she teased him for the rest of the day.

* * *

While watching TV, Clark heard something. And he didn't like the sound at all.

It sounded suspiciously like an explosion. He decided to focus on it a little more.

„ _-ELP! SOMEBODY HELP US, PLEASE!"_

Clark immidiately stood up and sped away without a second thought. He followed the sound of cries and destruction. It wasn't very hard, considering that something like this basically never happens in Smallville.

After reaching his destionation, Clark realized that one of the factories was caught on fire. Immidiately, Clark scanned the whole perimeter with his x-ray vision. He left his glasses at home, he doesn't wear them there. He noticed that almost everyone was out of the danger zone, except for one person in the main office of the factory.

Clark started running, though not at superhuman speeds. Someone started yelling at him to get back, but he didn't listen. There was a person trapped inside. And Clark was his only hope.

He almost couldn't see through the smoke, but he activated his x-ray vision and made his way through the smoke filled bulding. Debris started falling from everywhere, but he didn't care.

After finding the office, he tore the door apart. In the middle of the office lied the person he was looking for, unconscious. Probably from the smoke inhalation. From what he could see, the person was bald, but he looked young. Mid twenties, early thirties, perhaps. He was wearing a black suit with purple shirt and a green tie. Clark took him in his arms bridal-style and tried to carry him outside.

Of course, fate wasn't kind on Clark Kent, as it had to block his path. He put the man over his shoulder and punched through the debris blocking the way. After he punched through it, he ran outside with the man.

Firefighters and EMTs were already there, so he ran over to them. He put the man on the ground and let the EMTs do their job. The EMTs were able to get the man to breathe again. After a few seconds, he woke up by himself.

„What the hell happened?" asked the man. His voice sounded irritated.

‚ _Well, duh. Who wouldn't be irritated after almost dying?'_ thought Clark.

The EMTs explained the situation to him and that he should use a breather, as he suffered from smoke inhalation. However, as Chloe would say, the man didn't give a shit and came over to Clark.

„I heard you saved me," said the man as he looked Clark in the eyes.

„I suppose," answered Clark. The man smiled and offered his land.

„Lex Luthor."

Clark accepted the handshake.

„Clark Kent."

„Well, I suppose I should thank you, Clark," said Lex.

„No need to thank me. Anyone would've done this," said Clark.

Lex seemed honestly taken aback by his words for a seconds, though he masked it well.

„Well, Clark.. I guess this is a beginning of a beautiful friendship," said Lex with a smile.

Clark didn't know what was about this man, but it sended chills down his spine.

* * *

Unknown to Clark, someone was watching him from afar.

„Very good, Kal-El. Your parents would be proud of you."

* * *

 **So, this is the end of the chapter. Who do you think is the mystery 'person' watching Clark from afar?  
Thank you for reading. See ya around :)**


	10. Chapter 10 - Fotress

**Hi. I'm here once again with the new chapter. I hope you'll like it. Please, R &R.**

* * *

Chapter 10 - Fotress

Clark was having just a normal day. Well, except for his date with Sarah. He was looking forward to it, but he couldn't help but be nervous about it as well.

It didn't matter that they had one date before, he was still as nervous as before. He really liked her and he didn't want to screw anything up.

Of course, he knew the risks she would unknowingly take if she was dating him. Clark is a lot stronger than your average teenager, so he would have to be very, very careful all the time. Not that he wasn't used to it, but it was getting harder to hold back every single day.

Every single day, he was becoming stronger. Every single day, it took a little more to hold back and look like an average teenager. And he was afraid that Sarah would suffer the consequences. What if he unintentionally hurt her? He couldn't live with himself anymore. He would never forgive himself. Even if she forgave him.

„Why am I having such depressive thoughs?" asked Clark himself. And really, why was he? He is able to hold back. He held back his entire life. He was brought out of his thoughts by a gentle touch on his shoulder. He looked around and saw Sarah, looking as beautiful, cute, amazing, and.. dares he say sexy, as always.

She was wearing blue skinny jeans with a white shirt and black leather jacket. It was March, after all. But since it's the middle of Kansas, it wasn't very cold.

It was currently Friday, 7:00PM, and Clark was waiting for Sarah in front of the Smallville Cinema, where they would have their date, and then dinner in a diner afterwards.

„Hey," said Sarah with a smile. It showed her dimples, which Clark thought was cute.

„Hey. You look amazing," complimented Clark. Sarah gave him a grin.

„Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself, Mr. Kent," said Sarah with a teasing smile. They had their little teasing nicknames, like Ms. Wilson and Mr. Kent. Clark liked it, and apparently, Sarah, too.

Clark was wearing black jeans and dark blue button-up shirt with his sleeves rolled up. Sarah looked him over and was definitely not disappointed.

Sarah really liked Clark. True, she didn't know everything about him, they only had one date, but from what she's learned about him, he was a giant with the heart of gold. And he was sarcastic, too. She liked that even more. And his jawline that she was pretty sure is able to cut glass was not a con, either.

Truth be told, Clark seemed too perfect to be true, but maybe that's karma for her. Maybe she finally deserves some happiness in her life. She was brought back from her thoughts by Clark's deep, gentle voice.

„Hey, are you okay?" asked Clark. Sarah could hear the concern in his voice.

‚ _Damn, if he isn't perfect...'_ thought Sarah.

She smiled at him. „Of course, sorry. I was just thinking."

„About what?" asked Clark, as he smiled, too.

„Nothing important. Now, let's get to our date, shall we?" asked Sarah as she gestured to the entrance to the cinema.

Clark shrugged and smiled. She took his hand and they made their way inside. Both of them felt the electricity when they touched, and both of them smiled to themselves.

* * *

The movie was great. Clark let Sarah pick the movie, and, of course, she picked up a horror. Not that Clark didn't like it. Apparently, Sarah loved horrors and scary movies in general, and he wasn't against them.

At one point, there was a little jump-scare, and, of course, Sarah gripped his hand in a grip Clark was sure could break his hand were he not invulnerable.

Now, they made their way to the diner hand in hand, talking excitedly about the movie and themselves.

„I liked the part when the killer used the chainsaw, it looked very real," commented Sarah. Apparently, she was an expert in All Things Horror, and Clark was glad she was talking about it so excitedly. When she was excited, Clark felt happier. He was glad she was happy.

„Yeah, it looked amazing. Then the part in the forest... wow," said Clark. Sarah just nodded enthusiastically and started talking about the different movies they would have to watch. Well, apparently, she wasn't just an expert in All Things Horror, as Clark thought before. She was an expert in movies in general.

They talked about everything and nothing until they reached the diner. It was a classic looking diner you would find almost everywhere in America, with barstools, booths and 1950's style in general.

When they sat opposite each other in a boot, a waitress came to them with a smile and a notepad in hand.

„Hey, guys. So, what's it gonna be today?" asked the waitress. Sarah noticed that her smile didn't look fake at all. In fact, it wasn't a fake smile. She liked that. Coming from big city, you see waitresses and other people alike with the plastic, annoyed smiles on their face.

Not here, though.

Clark motioned to Sarah to pick first. She looked at the menu.

„I'll have a double cheeseburger with fries and a milkshake, please," said Sarah. The waitress looked a bit surprised, and so did Clark. She just shrugged. „I like food," was her only explanation. Clark chuckled and gave the waitress his order.

They started talking again. Talking about everything and nothing.

„So, where are you actually from? Like, I know that you moved from somewhere to Smallville, but truth be told, I have no idea where from," asked Clark, curiosity in his eyes. Sarah smiled.

„I'm from Metropolis, originally. After the death of my mother, I moved here with my uncle and aunt," said Sarah with a faraway look in her eyes and a sad smile. Clark felt ashamed, this seemed a little too personal.

„I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that," said Clark as he looked down at the table. Sarah just smiled and took his hand in hers.

„Hey," said Sarah gently, „it's okay. You didn't know."

Clark looked into her eyes and was taken aback by the sincerity in them. He decided to open up a little as well.

„I recently learned that my biological parents died as well.. trying to save me," said Clark. Sarah looked very surprised that he shared this kind of information with her.

Yeah, she knew he was adopted. But she though that his biological parents were either too young to take care of a child, didn't have the money for it, or simply, they didn't want him, which angered her a little. But finding out that his parents died trying to save him.. it pained her to think about it. She couldn't even begin to imagine the pain.. and possibly, knowing Clark, the guilt. She slowly cupped his face.

„I'm so sorry..." said Sarah. Clark smiled.

Sarah then decided to change the topic, to bring both Clark and herself at ease.

„So, tell me something about farming. Like.. what do you do on a farm?" asked Sarah. Clark just smiled, recognizing her attempt to change the topic. He appreciated that.

„Well, I have to fix the tractor every 2 weeks, but if you don't count that..." said Clark and they both chuckled. The conversation then went at ease.

„Sorry, folks. We're closing," said the waitress as she made their way to them. They both looked at each other and then at the clock. It was pretty late.

Clark paid for them both, though Sarah tried to protest, saying she could pay for herself. Clark had none of it. She played she was offended by him, though he could see the sparkle in her eyes.

* * *

He accompanied her on the way home, hand in hand, just smiling and talking. After coming to her house, she looked at him.

„Thank you for this date, Clark. I truly enjoyed it," said Sarah sincerely with a smile.

„I enjoyed it, too. Thank you for going with me," said Clark with a smile, too.

Then, Sarah did something that surprised even her. She stood on her toes and kissed him on the lips. Clark looked surprised as well, though he saw it in slow-motion. Damn that super-brain of his.

„Wow," said Clark. Sarah chuckled.

„Good night, Clark," said Sarah, as she hugged him.

Clark was a little surprised about the hug, considering the kiss a few seconds ago, but he learned that Sarah was a tactile person, and he didn't mind it one bit. He wrapped his arms around her.

„Good night, Sarah," said Clark. She smiled and went into the house. He listened to her heartbeart the entire way home.

Well, if that's what a kiss feels like, he couldn't wait to have more. But there was still the matter of hurting her unintentionally. It bothered him. He had to do something about it. And he knew exactly what.

* * *

„Mother, father," said Clark as the holograms of his biological parents appeared.

„ _Yes, son?"_ asked Jor-El.

„I've decided I need a training on how to use my powers most efficiently and properly. Is there any training program or anything like this in the ship?" asked Clark. Jor-El looked at Lara, then they both nodded to each other.

„ _Yes, there is. We wanted to give you this once you reach full maturation, but the way your powers are developing, I would say that it is time to give this to you now,"_ said Lara. Clark looked at her a little confused.

Suddenly, Clark heard like something was opening. He walked to the other side of the ship and was surprised to find a pentagon-shaped Crystal. He took it out and went back to the front of the ship, where the holograms of his parents are.

„What is this?" asked Clark.

„ _Why don't you scan it?"_ said Jor-El with a smile. A little teasing smile.

So, Clark scanned it with his x-ray vision and his newly discovered micro and macro visions. He discovered these new vision powers only a few days ago, but he mastered it already. He could basically see atoms and molecules, which, he thought, was pretty amazing. He didn't use it very often, though.

The crystal seemed to detect Kryptonian brain activity. Based on his scan, the crystal had something coded into it. It looked like plans for something. Something big.

Clark looked at his parents.

„ _Son. I need you to take the crystal, as well as the ship, to a deserted place where the sun shines the most,"_ said Lara.

Clark immediately knew the place. So, Clark smiled, turned off the A.I.s and picked up the ship. And then, he ran.

A few minutes later, he arrived to the place he had in mind. The Arctic. No people, lot of sunlight. Brilliant.

Clark then scanned the surroundings with his vision and found the perfect spot in the middle of Arctic. He scanned the ice as well – it was stable.

He ran there and put the ship down. He touched the symbol on the ship. After the holograms appeared, the ship seemed to scan the area.

„ _Very well done, Kal. This place seems like the best one. The North Pole of Earth,"_ said Lara.

„ _Indeed. Now, I need you to bury the crystal into the ground,"_ said Jor-El.

Clark had the rough idea about what was about to happen, but he still didn't believe it. Even as an advanced race, Kryptonians couldn't build fortresses out of 7 inches long crystals. Right? RIGHT?!

Clark shrugged and buried the crystal right next to the ship. He looked at his parents, who nodded.

After he buried the crystal, nothing happened for a few seconds. Then, the ground started to shake. He didn't know what to think, the only thing in his mind was „RUN!" – and so, he ran. When he stopped running, which was like 2 seconds, he looked back and saw crystal-like walls puncturing from the ground.

One wall, another wall, another, another, and then, the walls seemed to connect with one another and created one building. Or, should he say.. fortress? The place seemed massive.

The fortress itself looked crystalline.

‚ _Well, duh,'_ thought Clark.

He couldn't scan it with his x-ray vision, which was weird, but he supposed it was because of the Kryptonian technology. He ran around it and noticed that it didn't have any windows. He went then noticed something that looked like a door.

He went over there. He stopped right in front of the door. He suddenly felt like he was being scanned. Well, he wasn't mistaken.

A mechanical voice started him, _„DNA SCAN CONFIRMED. WELCOME, KAL OF THE HOUSE OF EL."_

The door opened and he stepped inside. The place seemed even bigger from the inside. In the middle of it all, he noticed the ship. He quickly went over to it.

„What is this place?" asked Clark.

„ _This is the last gift from us to you. This place is called the Fortress of Solitude. You can live here, or you can just come here to relax or work. This fortress has its own security system, artificial butler Kelex, as well as the most advanced Kryptonian technology,"_ said Jor-El and Lara continued.

„ _The fortress cannot be found be any satellites of radars. It was a project of your father, it's the only one of its kind. And it's yours. In the computers, you have access to Kryptonian database, which contains everything Kryptonians learned and discovered. It also contains Kryptonian culture, languages and physiology. The fortress itself also has a Phantom Zone projector, which you learned about a few weeks ago, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, solar room and much more. It is yours to explore."_

Clark didn't know what to say. The only thing he was able to tell was, „Thank you."

Both of his parents just smiled.

„ _You are welcome, Kal. Don't forget. You are a child of Krypton as you are a child of Earth. You are the best from both worlds, and we are proud of you. As for the training program you asked for, I have created a program specialized in testing the upper limitations of your abilities, as well as their control. It is all in the main computer,"_ said Lara.

Clark sometimes forgets that his mother was one of the best scientist on Krypton as well.

„ _Don't forget, Kal. You are not alone,"_ said Jor-El.

„Don't worry, father. I know."

* * *

 **So, Clark finally got his fortress. Sorry if it's a bit rushed for your taste. :D**

 **Tell me what do you think about the chapter, please, I would really appreciate it.**

 **And don't worry, in the next chapter, we will see Luthor, as well as Clark's parents.**

 **See ya around :)**

 **7 inches - approximately 18cm**


	11. Chapter 11 - The Interview

**Hi. So, I'm here once again with the new chapter. I really hope you'll like this one. Thank you for reading. Please, R &R, I would really appreciate it.**

 **Disclaimer (which I almost always forget): I don't own Superman. I only own Sarah Wilson, which is a win on its own. :D**

* * *

Chapter 11 - The Interview

Clark absolutely forgot that he was supposed to be writing for the Torch. How can somebody with an eidetic memory forget such a thing? Well, Clark was busy for the past few days. He went out on a third date with Sarah (which was amazing, according to him), he did his daily chores, he spent time with his family, and most importantly, he spent some time at the fortress, trying to get used to the technology and the fortress itself.

He found out that after the fortress was created and after the ship updated the database and computers, the A.I.s have shutted down. It was probably all a part of the program, but Clark wasn't very happy about it. He didn't even get to know them very much, although he knew some things about them.

Like, for example, both of his parents were really sassy and sarcastic. Even as A.I.s. Well, Clark knew where he got that from, at least.

Well, you could say that Clark lost his biological parents again. It was just a lot harder this time, considering he knew them this time.

He just had to learn how to deal with it.

Back to the presence, he quickly made his way to the Torch editorial room, or whatever it's called. As he entered the room, he was immediately assaulted by Chloe with questions.

„What the hell, Clark?! You said you'd write for the paper, but you haven't even stopped to give me your assignment! Do you have it, at least? The interview?" asked Chloe angrily. Clark took a few steps back. You don't want to mess with an angry Chloe.

„I'm so sorry, I completely forgot. I have a lot on my plate. I know it's not a proper excuse, and I hope you'll forgive me. As for the interview.. I forgot that, too," Clark looked at Chloe's reaction. It wasn't the bursting and angry anger he had seen before. This time, the anger was more.. calculating. More icy, „but don't worry. I'm actually meeting Sarah after school, so I can interview her then. And I will give this interview to you by tomorrow. Or today, if you want."

Chloe looked at him. He could see that some of the anger disappeared, especially the ice around her eyes. She was still angry with him, though. And it was confirmed a few seconds later.

„Alright. I'm still angry at you, though. It will take you a lot to fix this up, Clark," said Chloe.

Clark just nodded and he didn't even know why, he hugged her. For a second.

„Thank you. Alright, I'll have to prepare some of the questions. Any ideas?" asked Clark.

Chloe just smiled. She was glad Clark asked her for her help. Usually, Clark was too proud to call for help. Or something like that. He never asked for help.

„Well, you could ask her..."

And then, Chloe started to throw at him dozens of question recommendations a minute. Clark wasn't sure that even he could talk that fast. And he had super-speed, you know.

* * *

After school, Clark met with Sarah at „their place" – the place where everything started. At least, for them. The place where they had their first date – outskirts of Smallville, big tree, two swings. They came here a lot these past few days, even if it wasn't a date. It was just to talk and spend time together.

After about an hour of talking, Clark decided to bring up the interview.

„So.. I started writing for the Smallville Torch. You know, the school newspaper?" said Clark.

Sarah just nodded at him. She knew about the Torch. In fact, she thought about joining the Torch. Writing was something she enjoyed, though she never wanted to become either a writer or a reporter.

„Yeah?"

Clark stood up from the swing and came over to her. He offered her his hand.

„Well... I was supposed to do an interview with the smartest girl in school.. so," Clark bent down on one knee. Sarah didn't know what to hink about it, „would you do an interview with me?" asked Clark.

Sarah started laughing and took his hand.

„Of course, Mr. Kent. It would be my pleasure," said Sarah.

Clark went over to the swing once again and opened his backpack. He pulled out a notebook and a pen.

„I already have some questions ready. Shall we?" asked Clark with mock-professionalism.

„Why, of course, Mr. Kent. Ask away," said Sarah with a smile.

Clark sat on the swing and started reading the questions, while also giving a few glances at Sarah every few seconds.

„Alright. First question," said Clark.

„Yes?"

„How does it feel to be the smartest girl in the entire school?" asked Clark.

Sarah though about it. She honestly didn't know. It felt.. normal. Nothing special.

„Honestly? It doesn't feel any different. I feel just like any ordinary student," answered Sarah.

She noticed Clark wasn't writing anything down.

„Clark? Shouldn't you write it down? Or will you remember all my answers?" asked Sarah a little teasingly. Clark looked at her and smiled. Then, he started writing her answer down.

„Alright, bossypants. Second question. Well, it's a not question, per se. Tell us something about you," said Clark.

Sarah looked at him. „Us?"

Clark just smiled a little teasingly. „You know, the readers of the Torch?"

Sarah's mouth twisted into an ‚o' shape. She understood now.

„Well, not many people know this, excluding you, but I really love martial arts. I started doing it when I was about eleven years old, just after my mother died," said Sarah.

Clark looked at her with the most sincere compassion in his eyes. He wasn't pitying her. He knew how she felt. Sarah always wondered how a single human being could have so much goodness in him. So much compassion. So much empathy. So much everything.

„I'm sorry..." said Clark. Sarah just touched his hand.

„It's alright, Clark. You already said it before. I dealt with it. I'm not saying the grief and sadness is gone. It probably never will be, either. But I learned how to live with it," said Sarah gently. Sarah also knew that Clark was a very sensitive and tender person under that wall of muscles. She admired that about him the most.

Clark thought about asking more about her mother, and possibly, her father. He knew Sarah lived with her uncle and aunt after her mother died. Her uncle and aunt moved to Smallville recently, and they brought her with them.

He was actually quite excited to meet them sometime.

He decided he wouldn't push her. He figured she will tell him when she's ready to.

The interview lasted for a couple more minutes, incuding questions such as what's her favorite food, her fears and her favorite color. The answers to these questions are Cordon Bleu, spiders, and blue.

Clark's favorite color was blue as well. Talk about matches.

„Alright, last question. This one is a little more personal and I swear I didn't come up with this one – it was Chloe's idea. Alright?" said Clark.

Sarah looked at him. What question could he possibly have?

„Alright. Shoot," said Sarah after a few seconds.

„Okay, then. Are you seeing anyone?" asked Clark.

Clark thought Sarah would look at him with the mischevious glint in her eyes and tease him, but he only saw sincerity. She took his hand in her own.

„Yes, I am."

* * *

Lex Luthor was sitting in his big office in Metropolis. He was confused. And that almost never happened. But the thing that confused him was also something that almost never happened.

How could a 17-year old boy from Smallville save him from certain death without having smoke inhalation? Or a scratch on him? It was really wierd. Sure, the explosion was definitely an attempt to assassinate him. But after checking the whole factory, he found something even weirder.

Based on what the firemen said to his people, the boy came out from the north side of the factory. He checked the north side himself. It seemed like something PUNCHED its way through it. There was literally an imprinted fist in the concrete. Every normal person would break his or her hand trying to punch something like that.

But not the Kent boy. Was he a metahuman? Probably. There were metahumans with super-strength. But super-strength and invulnerability? The boy was special. Even among the metahumans. And he would find out what's so special about him.

He picked up the phone from the table and dialed a number.

„Mercy," said Lex.

„ _Yes, boss?"_ asked Lex Luthor's assistant, bodyguard and driver in one, Mercy Graves.

„Arange me a flight to Smallville. There's something I need to check out."

* * *

Sarah felt like she was being watched. It was like that for a few days, now. That creepy feeling when somebody stalks you. It felt strangely familiar. Like a deja-vu. But she didn't think too much of it. Or tried not to.

She decided she wouldn't tell anyone about it. It was probably just her mind playing tricks on her. They would definitely let her know if HE got out of prison.

* * *

After Clark wrote the interview and sent it to Chloe, he decided he would go over to the fortress and proceed with his training. After the first few days of training, he was able to control his powers much better than ever before.

He even found out he could see the whole electromagnetic spectrum, which means that he can as well see in the dark.

He also found out that even if his cells didn't absorb the sun's radiation, he would still be probably 10 times as strong as a peak-conditioned human being. Courtesy of having your muscles genetically adapted to the gravity of a much larger planet.

He also tested the upper limits of his strength on a machine. He was able to lift over 3 000 tons with an absolute ease. And he's only 17. How strong will he really become? He had no idea.

What he didn't discover yet was how to fly. He tried that a lot in the last few days. He discovered how should he be able to fly.

He should be able to manipulate his own gravitational field. Based on his calculations, he should be able to fly in the vacuum of space as well.

The only question was if he could survive in the vacuum of space as well?

Well, he would have to try it. And for that, he must learn how to fly.

* * *

Clark was having lunch at the school canteen when Chloe, Lana and Pete came over to him and sat down. Pete handed him the interview he wrote yesterday.

„So... she is seeing someone, huh?" asked Chloe a little teasingly. Clark looked up from his lunch at them.

„What are you talking about?" asked Clark.

Pete, Chloe and Lana looked at him like he's grown a second head.

„The interview with Sarah Wilson, Clark. You know, the smartest girl in school? The one you interviewed yesterday?" said Lana.

‚ _Lana, you, too?'_ thought Clark bitterly.

„Yeah, what about her?" asked Clark.

„Well... she is seeing someone. Do you have any idea who that someone might be?" asked Pete with a knowing expression on his face.

Right after Pete said it, Whitney Fordman came over to them.

„Hey, guys. Mind if I sit down?" asked Whitney. Lana immediately smiled at him, while Clark gestured for him to sit next to him.

Whitney sat down.

„So, what are you talking about?" asked Whitney after looking at Clark's bitter expression.

„Well, we are asking Clark here about Sarah Wilson. He did an interview with her yesterday," said Pete with a smug smile.

Whitney immediately understood what's going on. He decided he would side with Pete, Chloe and Lana on this one.

„Sorry, man, but I gotta side with them. So, what's going on between you and Wilson?" asked Whitney with that Whitney-like expression of his.

Clark looked at him with the look that clearly said _You, too?_

„Yeah, man. Me, too. So. Spill."

Clark gave out a long sigh and put down his fork.

„Alright. So, what do you want to know?" asked Clark. He knew that if these people wanted to know something, they would bug him until he gave in. They're his friends. It's what they do.

„You are the one she is seeing, aren't you?" asked Lana with a knowing smile. Lana really wished for Clark to have a good relationship. Things didn't work out between them, but she still cared about him a lot. And she knew he cared about her as well.

Clark got that happy smile he got when he used to be around her while they were still dating. She recognized the smile immediately. He was indeed seeing her. Or, should she say.. dating?

„Yeah. Yeah, I am," answered Clark.

He realized just now what this meant. He was seeing Sarah. He was dating with her. He was dating with the gentliest gentlest, bravest, most courageous, most compassionate, and of course, most beautiful girl he has ever seen.

Damn. He was lucky. Wasn't he?

* * *

 **So, this is the end of the 11th chapter. I hope you liked it.**

 **See ya around :)**


	12. Chapter 12 - Meta

**Hi, so, I'm here again. I noticed that there weren't much reviews, nor views, for that matter, on the last few chapters. I figured that I was probably boring you, so I decided to put a little action in his chapter. I hope you'll like it.**

* * *

Chapter 12 - Meta

Lex Luthor entered his secret lab in Smallville, Kansas.

„Dr. Hamilton," said Lex Luthor. Not even 20 seconds later, the said doctor came to Lex.

„Ah, Mr. Luthor. Good to see you again. Would you like an update?" asked Dr. Hamilton. Lex just shook his head.

„Maybe later, doctor. Right now, I need to make a test. I need to send one of our subjects out. I have a suspicion that there is a very powerful metahuman in Smallville and I want to be certain. Which one of our subjects is the best qualified for it?" asked Lex, as he was looking Dr. Hamilton right into his eyes. Both didn't break eye contact.

„W-well, there are more metahumans I am sure are equipped for this particular task. For one, there is Subject #040 – Albert Rothstein, who is able to grow in size, and, of course, strength. He wishes to be called the Atom Smasher. Then there is Subject #049 – Gorila Grodd. He is not a metahuman, but he is a super-strong gorilla with a human mind. A very smart human mind, to be exact.

„Then there is probably my favorite, Subject #053 – Waylon Jones. Thanks to his metagene, his entire body has a crocodilian mutation, which resulted in super-strength and near invulnerability for bullets, fire, and so on," said Dr. Hamilton.

Lex thought about this. These were good subjects, and there is still a slight chance that he isn't right about the Kent boy. Which means, he has to send someone not too strong, because if Kent got killed, it could be possibly traced back to him.

Lex then looked at Dr. Hamilton and offered him his hand to shake.

„Very well, doctor. Send out subject #053 near the Kent Farm in Smallville," said Lex.

Dr. Hamilton looked at him with a look of surprise and confusion on his face.

„The Kent Farm? You mean.. you think that.. Clark Kent is the metahuman?" asked Dr. Hamilton.

Lex just nodded. „Yes, I believe Clark Kent is the metahuman. Now, any other questions?"

Dr. Hamilton just slowly shook his head.

„Very well. Thank you for your time, Dr. Hamilton," said Lex as he started walking to the exit. „It's time to see what you're made out of, Kent."

* * *

„Mom?" asked Clark as he came home from the fortress, a red blanket in his hands.

„Yeah?" asked Martha from the kitchen, where she was, apparently, cooking dinner. Clark went over to the kitchen, where he saw his father was there as well.

„Hey, guys. I just wanted to ask you something. I found something strange in the ship while I was at the fortress," said Clark. Both Martha and Jonathan looked at him.

They both knew that it hurt Clark to lose the A.I.s of his parents – for him, it was like losing his biological parents all over again, except this time, he actually knew them. They expected him to start looking at the ship, including the insides of it. But did he find that he needs to ask them?

„Sure, son. What is it?" asked Jonathan as he stood up and walked next to Martha. Clark just showed them the red blanket he found in the pod, right in the place where, apparently, was he as a baby when he was travelling from Krypton to Earth.

Martha looked at the blanket, recognizing it almost immediately. It was the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby. Once the ship was in the storm cellar, she tried to open it to get the blanket for little Clark, but she just couldn't get in open, and in time, she completely forgot about it.

„Oh, I remember this. When we found you in Miller's field, you were wrapped in it. Apparently, it's some sort of a.. kryptonian blanket? I tried to open the ship to get it once it was in our storm cellar, but I couldn't get it open, and.. I forgot about it over time. I'm sorry, Clark," said Martha with a sad smile.

Clark just looked at them and smiled a little. „It's okay. I did a scan of it at the fortress. Apparently, it's a cape. It probably belonged to my father. See the shield?" asked Clark as he turned the blanket around, reavealing a black shield with the familiar S symbol in it, „it's the crest of my family, by the way. I really like it."

They both just smiled. Clark went over to hug them, but before he had the chance, he heard something from the outside. Like an angry roar. Quickly activating his x-ray vision, he noticed something big. A person. But the weird thing was his skin. It looked reptilian. Almost like a crocodile.

‚ _Who the hell is that? WHAT the hell is that?'_ thought Clark. Clark didn't have the chance to get his parents to safety, nor go out for that matter, before the reptilian.. person(?) broke the front door of their house.

„MOM, DAD, GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!" yelled Clark as he went in front of them. Now, Clark got a good look at the creature. Person. Whatever.

It was approximately 7'5" tall, which was a lot taller than Clark was – Clark was 6'5" nowadays. He really did have a reptilian skin, and was very, very muscular.

„Claaaark Keeeent. I was sent here to see what you're made out of. Now, I hope you'll give me a good fight, I don't want to be bored," said the creature in a deep, and yeah, almost reptilian voice. It sounded... scary. And Clark didn't get scaried easily. Pushing those thoughts back away, he stood tall in front of him.

„What I'm made out of? Who sent you?" asked Clark. The creature, or person.. aaaah, screw it... just smiled.

„Someone big. Now, I want my victims to know WHO killed them," said the man as he smiled. The evil, megalomaniac smile, it gave Clark chills, „they call me Killer Croc. And I'm your demise."

„I don't want to fight you," said Clark. Killer Croc just started laughing.

„You have no choice, little man. And once I defeat you, I will kill every single person in this house right in front of your eyes. And then, just then, I will squash you like the bug you are. Understand?" asked Croc. Clark was trying to stay calm, but now... he was angry. Very angry.

No one threatened the people he cared about. Especially his parents.

His eyes started glowing crimson red. You could literally see the little veins around his eyes. Croc looked surprised, if not a little intimidated.

Clark could hear the police sirens in the distance, they were about 5 miles away. Unfortunately, Clark was focusing on his hearing too much to notice the big reptilian fist aiming right at his face.

Suddenly, he felt a little sting on his nose, and felt himself falling back, as he did not have the time to properly ground himself. He shook his head a few times, as if trying to clear his mind, and looked at Killer Croc, who was holding his hand, apparently in pain.

Killer Croc looked at Clark. „What are you?" asked Croc.

Clark stood up, eyes still glowing red.

„I am someone who hates when somebody else threatens to kill people I care about. Now, there are 2 scenarios in how this is going to end. One. You surrender, and I give you to the police. No harm done. Except for you hand, apparently. Two. You won't surrender, I beat you up, and then I give you to the police. Please, choose two," said Clark angrily. He was never this angry before in his life. Never.

Croc thought about this. He slowly stood up.

„Sorry, little man. I'm not going to prison," said Croc as he aimed another punch to his face. This time, with his other hand. Clark saw the fist now in slow-motion, so he caught it with his hand and squeezed a little, effectively breaking his hand. He knew he had to hold back. Even if he was a scum, he had no right to kill.

Nobody had a right to kill. Clark's eyes returned to their normal, inhuman color, masked by his glasses.

So, Clark punched Croc in the stomach, using only a fraction of his true strength. Then, he punched his face. He could hear the sirens now a lot better, which meant that they were now very close. About half a mile.

„WHO. SENT. YOU?!" asked Clark, still angry, though now his anger quickly disappearing, but he had to keep the act, so that Croc would be intimidated. Croc was now on the ground, wheezing in pain. Clark took off his glasses and put them on a little wooden table next to him. He knelt down, so he would look Croc directly into his eyes.

Then, his eyes started glowing red once again. This time, even his sclera was now extremely red. Croc looked very scared. But he still wouldn't tell him.

Clark figured it out.

„You are more scared of the person who sent you than you are scared of me, aren't you?" asked Clark, his eyes once again returning to their normal color.

Croc didn't say anything. Clark punched him into the face, knocking him out immediately. Now, Clark stood above him, looking at his hands, realizing the truth. He used his powers to hurt somebody. Even if he had the right to do it, he still hurt somebody in anger.

Before he had the chance to think about it some more, the cops came in through the remains of the front door. They aimed the gun at Clark, as well as Croc, who was still unconscious.

„Is everyone alright? Martha Kent called us, said there was a metahuman attacking you," said the sheriff, who came into the house now as well.

Clark immediately started running upstairs, where his parents were. He came over to them and hugged them tightly.

„Are you alright?" asked Martha after he let them go, concernedly.

Clark just nodded. „He punched me in the face, but I'm fine. But... mom, I-I held back, but I still hurt him. In anger. He threatened you, and all I could see was red.. literally... I..."

Martha looked at Jonathan, the concern was evident on her face, as well as eyes. Jonathan didn't look much different. He came over to Clark.

„Clark. You have to realize something. You did it to protect us. You are not a bad person. You don't have the capacity to be a bad person, son. I know you'll think about it. And I know you'll feel guilty, because I know you. But know this, Clark. You just saved our lives. And we couldn't be more proud of you than we are now," said Jonathan as he put a hand on his shoulder.

Clark hugged Jonathan once again, this time, a little more gently. „Thanks, dad."

* * *

„SARAH!" yelled aunt Arianna from downstairs. Sarah immediately bolted up from her computer. What's going on?

She quickly came down the stairs.

„What's going on, aunt Ria?" asked Sarah with concern.

„You are seeing the Kent boy, right?" asked her uncle, Frank. Sarah was confused. What the hell is going on?

„Um, yeah. What's going on?" asked Sarah, confused.

They both looked at her. „Some metahuman named Killer Croc broke into the Kent's house while all of them were there. He had a fight with the Kent boy," said uncle Frank. He didn't get to meet the Kent boy yet, but he knew he made his niece happy, and that's all he needed to know.

Sarah didn't even spared them a second glance as she started running to the door, immediately putting on her boots and jacket.

„I'll come home as soon as I can, don't worry," said Sarah, as he literally bolted out of the house and started running towards the Kent Farm.

Frank and Arianna were just looking at the door, where Sarah was a few seconds ago.

„I could've given her a ride," said Frank. Arianna just nodded.

The Kent Farm was approximately a 2 miles away, but Sarah didn't give a damn. She exercised almost every day, a run like that was nothing. All she could think about was Clark.

‚ _Is he okay? What happened? Why would a metahuman break into their house? In the afternoon? And in Smallville? Are there even metahumans in Smallville? Is Clark okay? Oh my god, Clark, please, be okay.'_

Though she could only think about Clark, she got that familiar chill down her spine. She felt like she was being watched once again. She had that kind of feel for a few days now, and she couldn't get rid of it. The only place she felt.. safe, should she say, was when she was with Clark, which was weird, but she liked it.

She quickly shrugged the feeling off and started running a bit faster, and before she even realized it, she was in front of the Kent farm. She ran again to their house, where the sight shocked her a little. The door was completely broken down, including the hinges.

„CLARK?!" yelled Sarah. A few seconds later.

Of course, Clark heard her. He stood up from his chair, where the police officer was questioning him, and started running towards the front door. Or what was left of it.

And there she was. Sarah. She came. In the middle of what was happening, he completely forgot to call her. How can someone with an eidetic memory forget to call his own girlfriend? Damn, that's a new level of douchery.

Clark quickly ran down the porch and came over to her, where he didn't even have the time to say anything before she hugged him, extremely tightly.

„Oh my God, Clark, are you okay? I heard you had a fight with a metahuman," said Sarah into his chest, still in a tight embrace.

Clark wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her at the top of the head.

„Hey, I'm okay. I'm sorry," said Clark. Sarah eased her tight hold on him a little and looked into those inhuman eyes of his. She noticed he wasn't wearing his glasses. She's always loved his eyes, especially when he wasn't wearing his glasses. The intense blue was unlike anything she's ever seen.

„For what?" asked Sarah, a little confused.

„For scaring you like that," said Clark. Sarah just shook her head with a smile. Of course, that was Clark. Only he could have a fight with a goddamn metahuman, come out without a scratch, which she noticed just now, and yet still apologize for scaring her.

Well, that was Clark for you.

„Just promise you'll call me when something like this happens again, alright? Which I hope won't happen again. You are only human, you know?" said Sarah. Clark just chuckled a little, tighting his hold on her.

‚ _Yep. Only human,'_ thought Clark.

* * *

Unknown to Sarah, or Clark, for that matter, someone was indeed watching her from afar.

„Don't worry, Sarah. We'll see each other soon."

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading this chapter. Let me know your opinion in the reviews, please.**

 **7'5" - approximately 226cm**

 **6'5" - approximately 196cm (Clark will still grow a little in height over the next few years, by the way :))**

 **Sclera - the white part of your eyeballs, or, as wikipedia says, "the white of eye" :)**

 **See ya around :)**


	13. Chapter 13 - Dinner

**Hi. I'm here once again with the new chapter. I hope you'll enjoy this one :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman, I only own Sarah Wilson and her family.**

* * *

Chapter 13 - Dinner

Clark was nervous. No, scratch that. Clark was incredibly nervous.

It's not every day you get to meet the family of your girlfriend.

It all started a few hours ago, when Sarah came over to him and told him that it's finally time to meet her uncle and aunt. At first, Clark was excited. He wanted to meet the people Sarah really cares about. But on the other hand, he felt rather nervous. He was afraid they wouldn't accept him. Of course, he wouldn't tell them about his alien heritage, but he knew sooner or later, he would have to tell Sarah the truth.

Because if he wanted a good, lasting relationship with Sarah, he knew he has to be honest with her. Whether it is about something as simple as his favorite color, or something as important like the fact that he is a super-powered alien.

So, that's why he's in his room right now, sitting on his bed, trying to decide what to wear so that he would look acceptable, as well as what to say to her family. He wanted to make a good first impression.

„Clark, you look really nervous," said his mom as she came into his room. She knew he was going to meet Sarah's family. She liked Sarah very much, and she knew Clark adored her. A lot.

Clark looked at his mother, with a look of exasperation on his face. Well, that's what it looked like to Martha. „Of course I'm nervous, mom... I'm meeting her family.. what if they don't like me? What if I make a bad first impression? And truth be told, I want to be honest with Sarah. I really do. But I don't know if she's ready to learn about the.. alien part of my life. Or if she'd accept me after learning the truth..." said Clark.

Martha sat on the bed next to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

„Clark. You just have to be yourself. You are a great person. A good person. Sarah sees it, and I'm sure her family will see it as well. And about the alien part... it's your choice. You can tell her, but you don't have to tell her. Just remember, that no matter what, me and your father will always stand by your side. Okay?"

Clark looked at his mother and hugged her. The hug looked a little weird, since they were sitting on his bed, but it warmed Martha's heart nonetheless. He is her little boy, and he is always going to be her little boy.

„Well, and it wouldn't be so bad if you brought them something. And I know just the right thing," said Martha as an afterthought. Clark just chuckled.

Sarah was excited. Clark was finally meeting her family! Well, the part of the family she cares about, anyway. It warmed her heart to know that the most important people in her life are finally going to meet each other.

It was now 5:50 PM and Clark should be arriving soon. Of course, she felt rather nervous, but she figured it wasn't anything bad. She still had that feeling like someone was watching her, but she learned how to ignored it.

She went downstairs to the kitchen, where her uncle and aunt were cooking dinner together. It never ceased to amaze her how they are completely in sync with each other, as well as how they are still in love, even after all those years. Of course, she was sad that they couldn't have children of their own, but they always told her that she is basically their daughter, and they love her like their own child.

Her uncle looked at her when he heard her footsteps and smiled.

„Hey, sweetheart. When's Clark going to come?" asked uncle Frank. Sarah looked at the clock again. 5:55 PM.

„I told him to come here at 6 o'clock. He's always on time, so that shouldn't be a problem," said Sarah. She then proceeded to come over and prepare the table. She didn't even finish it when there was a knock on the door.

‚ _Must be Clark.'_

She came over the door and opened them, seeing it was Clark. She scanned his body with her eyes, marveling at his physique. She'd never get tired of it. He was wearing a black shirt with his sleeves rolled up, along with dark blue jeans.

„Wow, Sarah. You look amazing," said Clark as he hugged her and kissed her cheek. It looked rather funny, as he was a foot taller than her. Literally.

„Hey, Clark. You don't look so bad yourself," she said as she winked at him a little. Clark blushed.

‚ _Farmboy.. cute farmboy, though,'_ thought Sarah with a smile.

She then noticed he had something in his hand. She didn't have the chance to ask him what it is, because right then, her uncle came over to greet him.

Uncle Frank looked a little surprised at how tall and muscular Clark was. Based on everything Sarah told them about him, about his personality and so on, he thought he would be a little... he didn't want to think the word uglier, because it sounded too harsh.

Frank extended his hand. „Hello, you must be Clark. We've heard a lot of things about you," said Frank, while Clark shook his hand.

Frank was a guy in his 40's, with the exactly same eyes as Sarah, dark brown hair, which had a little gray in it already, and was around 5'11". What surprised him, but shouldn't, was the warmth in his eyes.

Clark smiled. „Hello, Mr. Wilson. Nice to finally meet you," said Clark.

Frank smiled. _Well, he has manners, that's a good thing._

„Please, call me Frank. Now, come, the dinner is almost ready."

They made their way into the kitchen, where he met Sarah's aunt, Arianna.

„Hello, Clark. I'm Arianna. Nice to finally meet you," said Sarah's aunt. Clark shook her hand as well. Arianna was a beautiful woman, also in her 40's, with blond hair and brown eyes, which radiated the same warmth as her husband's. She was somewhere around 5'6 in the height department, just a little taller than Sarah herself.

Clark then remember he still had the gift he brought them.

„Uh, I didn't want to come empty handed, so I brought you this. It's my mom's apple pie," said Clark as he gave the pie. It was wrapped in a foil, so that it would survive Clark's speed, although he was going much slower than usual, since Sarah lived only a few miles away from the Kent farm.

Arianna seemed a little surprised at this, but her look of surprise quickly changed to look of delight, and she smiled. „That's very kind of you, Clark," said Arianna.

Clark noticed the dinner wasn't ready yet, so he offered his help, saying his mother taught him how to cook ever since he was a young boy. Arianna quickly accepted, while Frank and Sarah were preparing the table and talking quietly.

„He seems nice," said Frank. And truth be told, he truly does. He didn't come empty handed, he offered his help and he has manners.

Sarah immediately smiled. „He is nice, uncle Frank."

Meanwhile, Clark was also talking with Sarah's aunt while helping her with dinner.

„So, Clark, what do you like about Sarah?" asked Arianna while looking him in the eyes. Of course, she liked Clark the moment she met him, he seemed like a good boy.. or should she say man? Ah, never mind. He seemed like a good boy, but she also knew that looks can be deceiving.

So she decided to ask him a few questions, just to determine his character.

Of course, Clark immediately figured out that it is a test. And he decided to answer honestly.

„Well, she's stubborn, funny, teasing, she is incredibly strong, she's very smart, and in my eyes, she's.. perfect," said Clark.

Arianna could see the way his eyes brightened when he talked about her niece, and she knew he was telling the truth.

„Well, Clark.. it seems you have passed my test," smiled Arianna.

About 10 minutes later, the dinner, consisting of mashed potatoes, vegetables and steaks, was ready to be served. After they all sat down, Clark sitting right next to Sarah, of course, they started eating. Clark wouldn't be Clark if he hadn't waited before everyone else started eating.

„Wow, this is really amazing," said Clark after a few seconds. Arianna immediately smiled, and Frank got that proud look on his face Sarah knew all too well.

They started talking then, about everything. Then, the metahuman subject came.

„Clark, what do you think about the metahumans?" asked Frank.

Clark put down the fork and the knife and put his hands on the table. Everyone could see that Clark thought about it. Frank expected him to say that he hated them, since one of them attacked him in his home not even two weeks ago, but his response surprised him in a very good way.

„I don't have anything against them. It's not their fault they have these.. superpowers.. but I'm very glad most of them decided to help ordinary people. I admire them. A lot of people hate them, but they still help them when they need it. Of course, I know there are some metahumans which are bad.. case in point, Killer Croc," said Clark with a little smile, but Sarah could see that he didn't have that teasing sparkle in his eyes. He was serious, „but we can't judge all of them because some of them decided to do bad things. Some of them want to live in peace, some of them want to do crime, some of them want to help people. What do you think?"

Everyone was silent. Clark looked at Sarah and saw she was grinning at him with a proud look on her face, while Frank and Arianna thought about what he had said.

„I agree with you, Clark," said Frank after a few seconds, with a smile.

They continued to talk about everything. Clark talked a lot with Sarah, and both Frank and Arianna saw the looks on their faces when they talked to each other. Frank and Arianna looked at each other, both of them wearing a knowing smile.

The dinner then went very smoothly, Clark even helped with the dishes, though Arianna told him that he was a guest. Still, he insisted.

Sarah decided to talk Clark out, and of course, her uncle and aunt agreed, since they wanted to give them some time alone.

As they went outside, Clark looked at her, and was surprised when Sarah kissed him gently.

„What was that for?" asked Clark after the kiss. Sarah smiled and pulled him closer to her.

„For you being you," answered Sarah with a smile. She then hugged him tightly.

„I guess you have to go now, right?" mumbled Sarah into his chest. Clark held her a little tighter, though he did answer her. „Yes."

They said their goodbyes and Clark made his way home. After coming home, he noticed his parents watching TV in the living room.

„Hey, guys," said Clark as he came into the living room and sat on the couch next to his parents with a smile on his face. Of course, his parents noticed his smile.

„I take it that it went well?" asked his dad, as he looked at him. Clark just nodded.

„They are good people," said Clark. Nothing else needed to be said.

Lex was angry, though he didn't show it to anyone. It's been almost 2 weeks since he sent Croc to fight the Kent boy, and it's also been 2 weeks since Croc was arrested. Croc was one of the most powerful metahumans they had, and the Kent boy was able to defeat him and not having a scratch on him? There was no way he wasn't a metahuman. He had to be. There is no other logical explanation.

But Kent is not even an adult yet. Lex is a powerful person, but he still could have problems from experimenting on a teenager. And he didn't think Dr. Hamilton would like it, either. Lex knew Hamilton was wary of him, he's known ever since he assigned him to work with the metahumans. He wouldn't want to experiment on a 17-year-old boy.

He will keep tabs on Kent. And one day, he will get his hands on him.

Sarah went to sleep with a soft smile on her face. She was extremely happy her aunt and uncle approved of Clark, and that they liked him. The thought that Clark liked them made her even happier.

Though, that would change soon.

Not even an hour after she fell asleep, the window of her room slowly and quietly opened. Inside came a man with dark clothes with a needle in his hand. He came over to Sarah, and slowly, he put the needle into her vein.

After he was sure that the drug worked, he gently picked her up.

„Hello, babygirl."

* * *

 **Alright, thank you for reading this chapter. I hope you liked it. Please, tell me your opinion on it by posting a review, I would really appreciate it. Also, you can guess who kidnapped Sarah. There will be some action in the next chapter, so you don't have to worry about that.**

 **5'11" - approximately 180cm**

 **5'6" - approximately 167.5cm**

 **See ya around :)**


	14. Chapter 14 - Kidnapped

**Hey, guys. It's me again with another chapter of this story. I hope you'll like this one, since it's probably the longest chapter I've written. Yet. Please, read and review, I would really appreciate it.**

 **Disclaimer, which I almost always forget: I don't own Superman.**

* * *

Chapter 14 - Kidnapped

Sarah felt incredibly dizzy, and that's saying something, considering she hasn't opened her eyes yet. She could feel, though. She could feel she was lying on an uncomfortable mattress. She slowly opened her eyes, which took her much more effort than usual. And then, she realized something.

She's not in her room. She recognized it by the ceiling. Her ceiling was pure white with some blue patterns. This ceiling was just wood.. with holes in it. If you asked her, she would tell you that she saw a spider up there somewhere.

She noticed she was still wearing her ‚pajamas' – shorts and a tank top. She was taken while she was asleep.

‚ _Duh, Sarah..'_ she thought.

Okay, so she is not in her room. Where is she, then? She slowly sat up and looked around. The furniture was definitely old, with a lot of dust on it. Obviously, nobody's been here in a long time.

So, somebody kiddnaped her. It was the only rational solution to this. Why else would she be here? She went over to the door and tried to open it. Locked.

‚ _Great,'_ thought Sarah, _‚maybe there's a window somewhere.'_

She looked around the room once again and found a window. Unfortunately, it had bars, probably made out of iron or steel or something. There was no way she would be able to tore it apart.

So, who would kidnap her? She was nothing special. A chill ran down her spine when she remember the only person who would have a reason to kidnap her. A person who promised to her that he would find her. A person she's always been afraid of.

Sarah could hear steps outside of the room, and she stopped dead in her tracks. She even stopped breathing.

‚ _Okay, Sarah. Calm down. If it IS him, you just have to kick his ass. Come on, you have a black belt in karate,'_ thought Sarah.

She could hear a number of locks being unlocked. And then, the door slowly opened. She slowly, extremely slowly looked around.

In front of her stood a man. He was tall, muscular (and a little fat), with blue eyes that once shone with sincerity, but now you could only see the darkness in them.

He looked older than Sarah remember him, but there was no mistaking for who he was. Suddenly, he spoke.

„Hello, Sarah."

* * *

If you asked Clark, he would say he is not worried. But you could clearly see the concern and a little fear in his eyes. And truth be told, Clark was scared shitless. Sarah hasn't been to school the whole day, and even her family didn't know where she was. Arianna told him that she went to sleep, and then, the next morning, she was gone. There was a possibility of kidnapping, according to sheriff Adams, the sister of his Math teacher.

Sheriff Adams already started a search party or something like that. She explained it to him, but Clark wasn't paying much attention. The only thing he was worried about is Sarah. How could he let her be kidnapped? For god's sake, he could hear her heartbeat from the other side of town, and he failed to hear, or see, for that matter, that somebody took her?

Martha came into the living room where Clark was sitting, drinking his tea (which was extremely hot, if she may add), and watching TV. She knew, though, that Clark wasn't watching the TV. He was thinking. She knew that expression. He was thinking, and he felt guilty.

„Clark," said Martha. Clark didn't turn around, he was most likely too zoned out to hear her. She kneeled in front of him.

„Clark. Listen to me. It wasn't your fault," said Martha. Unnoticed by Martha, nor Clark, for that matter, Jonathan came into the room as well.

It was then that Clark spoke.

„If she gets hurt.. I swear to God, I'm gonna find them. And I'm gonna..." he didn't finish the sentence. He couldn't. He wouldn't.

Killing wasn't the way. He has these powers.

„I have these powers for a.. I have these powers," said Clark, sounding like something dawned on him. Suddenly, he stood up.

„I'm gonna find her."

His parents didn't even have the time to say anything to him, because suddenly, he was gone. Super speed.

„Clark. I know you can hear me. I know you can find her. We believe in you."

* * *

His voice sounded even more.. evil... than she remembered it. A chill ran down her spine again, but she decided to ignore it.

„Hello, Jack," said Sarah bitterly, though even she could see the fear in her voice. And she guessed her facial expression wasn't any better.

The man looked at her and smiled. It definitely wasn't a kind smile. Nor it looked like a smile, for that matter. It looked extremely forced, and dare she say it, extremely evil.

„Why are you calling me Jack?" asked the man. Sarah laughed a little, though her eyes shone with unshed tears.

„Because that's your name, isn't it? Why did you kidnap me?" asked Sarah. Her fear was starting to get replaced by pure, raw anger. How dare he? How dare he kidnap her? Take her away from her family?

He smiled again, though it looked even more forced than before. „Yes, it is my name. Though, if I remember correctly, you used to call me.. daddy."

She closed her eyes. A few tears escaped her and ran down her cheeks. She looked down at her feet and then back at him. „That was before. Before you started abusing us. Before you started drinking. Before you KILLED mom and John!" Sarah all but shouted, her anger reaching the melting point.

His smile faltered. Obviously, it wasn't the reaction he's expected. Then, he looked at her with those blue eyes of his, so much like her own, and so much unlike Clark's. She then remember Clark. Her sweet little (heh) farmboy, whose eyes literally shone with sincerity. What would she give to see them now... Unfortunately, she was stuck in a room with him.

Her anger quickly disappeared, and was, once again, replaced by fear.

„What do you want from me? Why did you kidnap me? And how did you get out of prison?" asked Sarah, her voice shaking.

Her father.. no, Jack, smiled again. „You are the only close family I have left, babygirl. I've changed."

Sarah immediately cringed at the nickname. Her mother used to call her that. He didn't. The only thing he's ever called her was.. she didn't want to think about it.

And changed? She scoffed at it internally. There is no way he has changed. He is far too gone. Far too evil.

She slowly composed herself and held her chin high. She had to be brave. She had to be strong.

„I am NOT your family. Not anymore," said Sarah, while looking up at him. She could see he was starting to get angry. She expected that. What she didn't expect, however, was the contact her palm made with her cheek. It was strong, and she wasn't grounded, so she fell down.

Truth be told, it hurt like bitch. But it wasn't unfamiliar. Still didn't hurt any less. She slowly got up, the tears from her eyes now falling freely on her cheeks.

„Changed, huh? You didn't change one bit. You are still short-tempered. You are still abusive. And you are still CRAZY," said Sarah. She tried to make her voice sound as strong as she could, but the fear still creeped into it. She mentally scolded herself, but it didn't help much.

He looked extremely angry now, and she could see he clenched his fist again. She decided to push it a little more, though she knew it wouldn't end very good for her. „Now, show me how you've changed. Though I still don't believe it. Not even one bit. You haven't changed," said Sarah. He seemed extremely angry, looking very close to furious, his fists were clenched so tight his knuckles turned white.

He, much to Sarah's surprise, stormed out of the room while hitting a wall with a lot of force, and then locked the door behind him.

* * *

It was about 3 hours after Clark started looking for Sarah and he got nothing. He didn't even have the evidence that she was still in Smallville.

Clark was trying to listen to her heartbeat – he failed. Either she was too far away, or he was too distracted. Well, it was most likely the latter.

‚ _Get it together, Kent. Your girlfriend was kidnapped, and more than likely, you are her only hope,'_ thought Clark, mentally scolding himself.

He x-rayed almost every house in the town, except for the very old ones at the outskirts of the city. It was time to look there.

* * *

It's been a couple of hours, she guessed, since the first and the last time he came to her, but Sarah had a plan. The only thing she needed was him to come to her again. And, apparently, that time was now.

She noticed he didn't lock the door when he was in the room with her, which was an advantage. She was lucky he was pretty dumb. Really, she failed to see what her mother saw in him all those years ago.

The door slowly opened and he came in, a bottle of water in one hand, and, apparently, a sandwich in the other. He tried to smile gently, but it looked like some kind of a crazy comic book villain.

„What do you want?" asked Sarah. She tried to seem angry, but based on the look on his face, she was either very bad at acting or he just didn't give a shit.

„Figured you would be hungry," said Jack, trying to sound... sweet? Well, he definitely failed.

„I'm not, thanks," said Sarah, while she thought it was time, „but listen. I believe there is a chance you've changed.."

After she said that, he got that creepy smile on his face again. Apparently, he couldn't smile any other way. And while he was distracted, Sarah decided to make her move.

„We-.." he didn't get to finish the thought, because he was interrupted by Sarah foot on his balls, and then with a fist into his face.

Sarah started running towards the door. After she got out of the room, she started running down the stairs. She then noticed the front door, and that it was probably locked. She didn't give a damn. She ran into it with her shoulder and broke it down. Of course, she didn't have the time to balance herself, so she fell down along with the door.

Her shoulder hurt like hell, but she had to push past it. She had to go. She had to run. She then noticed that the entire house was fenced with barbed fence. The fence itself wasn't too tall, but the barbed wire seemed very sharp, and it would probably hurt like hell, but she didn't care at the moment.

She climbed onto it, while she noticed Jack running towards her. She had to climb faster, she had to get out of here.

"SARAH, STOP!" shouted Jack, but she ignored him. She climbed, and then she felt a white hot pain in her abdomen. She cried out in pain.

"Shit," mumbled Sarah quietly. Fortunately for her, she still had the adrenaline rush, so she was able to climb out the fence and get to the other side of the fence. She then started running like hell, because there was no way she would let herself be captured again.

She heard someone yelling her name, but she barely registered it.

It wasn't until a few hundred yards away that she finally stopped and everything went black.

* * *

Clark heard a cry (or was it yell?), and he immediately recognized the voice as Sarah's. There was no time to think if he was crazy or if it was indeed Sarah voice, because it was a cry nonetheless. He started running towards the direction of the cry. He noticed there was an old house, a barbed fence with a lot of blood on it, and most importantly, Sarah, falling down from the top of the fence. She started running somewhere, so Clark started going after her.

"Sarah!" Clark all but shouted, but she didn't seem to have heard him. It wasn't until a few yards then that she slowed down. Clark went over to her.

"Sarah, thank God," said Clark, but he didn't have the time to thank his lucky stars yet. She was bleeding profusely from a wound in the abdomen, and was not conscious. Clark knew what he had to do. He took down his jacket and started making pressure on the wound, while he picked her up with one hand and started running towards Smallville General.

There was no way she was going to die. There was no way he was going to let her die.

* * *

The first thing Sarah heard after she blacked out was the beeping of a machine. And she felt someone else's hand on hers. She slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was that she was in a hospital. How did she get here? She looked at her hand and saw Clark was holding it. So, that's how she got here.

His eyes were closed, he was probably asleep. She gently stroked his hand. And that's when his eyes slowly opened. When he noticed she was awake, he smiled. It wasn't the evil or forced smile like Jack had. This smile was genuine, happy.

"Clark.." said Sarah. Her throat was dry, considering she didn't drink the day before her kidnapping. Clark seemed to notice this, and he handed her a glass of water. She smiled at him and nodded, giving him his thanks.

After taking a few gulps, her throat felt much better. She tried to sit up, then, but a sharp pain in her abdomen stopped her. She hissed in pain and looked at Clark with a questioning look.

"You hurt yourself while you were climbing the barbed fence. You'll have to take it easy for a couple of days. Sarah, god... You almost bled out.." said Clark, and she could still hear the concern in his voice. She then looked him in the eyes and definitely saw concern.

"Hey," said Sarah gently, "I'm alright, everything is alright now."

Clark just held her hand a little tighter, not that she minded.

"How long have I been out?" asked Sarah.

"I found you yesterday, it's 5PM now," answered Clark. She then looked at him. Has he been here the whole time?

"Clark, how long have you been here?" asked Sarah then. Clark looked a little sheepish, but he answered nonetheless.

"Since I brought you here…"

"Clark, but-" Sarah tried to tell him that he should've gone to school or something, but he cut her off.

"No, Sarah. You were hurt. I was not going to go to school or go home, there was no way I was going to leave you. Not now, not ever. I don't want to lose you. Understood?" said Clark. Sarah just smiled a little and nodded.

He really cared about her. Of course, she knew that before. But he cared about her a lot. She tried to reach for him, but he put a hand on her chest and gently pulled her down. Sarah then looked at him.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Clark with a concern in his voice again, but Sarah could hear the amusement in his voice, too.

"Since apparently you aren't going to let me sit, you just have to get here and kiss me, farmboy," said Sarah. Clark looked a little surprised, but of course, he smiled, bent down and kissed her deeply.

Clark realized that when he was with her, and when he knew she was safe, he couldn't care less about anything else. It may sound a bit weird.. and maybe it's too soon, but he really felt complete with her. And he hoped she felt the same way with him.

After a few seconds, somebody cleared their throat. Clark was startled a little and broke of their kiss, while Sarah started laughing a little. Damn super-senses, don't work when you need them. Clark looked behind him and noticed that Sarah's family was there.

"Sorry to interrupt, lovebirds," said Arianna with a teasing smile, but Sarah could see the concern in her eyes.

Clark then stood up. "I think I'm gonna leave you three alone, guys," he said, as he gently kissed Sarah on the forehead.

"See you tomorrow?" asked Clark. Sarah just nodded with a smile. As Clark made his way to the door, Frank stopped him.

"Clark?" he asked.

"Yeah?" asked Clark. What could this be about?

"I just wanted to.. thank you. For saving her.." said Frank with a smile, while Arianna was chatting with Sarah. Clark looked at her, and at the exact same moment, she looked at him and smiled.

"There is nothing I wouldn't do for her, Frank.." said Clark as Frank clapped him on the shoulder with a smile. Frank really liked that boy. He was perfect for his little girl.

* * *

After Clark left, Frank and Arianna were talking with Sarah.

"Police are looking for Jack right now, it seems he's escaped. I'm sorry, honey.." said Arianna. Sarah just smiled and shook her head.

"It's alright. The important thing is that I'm here with you," said Sarah. Frank and Arianna smiled, and then looked at each other. Apparently, some kind of a non-verbal conversation was going on between them.

It was Frank then who spoke.

"Sarah, sweetheart.. you know that, sooner or later, you're will have to tell Clark about your father, right?"

Sarah froze a little, but then she nodded. Of course she knew she would have to tell Clark about it. And she decided that it would definitely be sooner than later.

"Yeah, I know."

* * *

 **So, what do you think about this chapter? I hope you liked it :D Sorry it took me this long, I had a little bit of a writer block, and I still have it. It's probably the tiredness or something. Please, R &R.**

 **1 yard - 0.91m (I didn't know whether to use yards or meters)**

 **See ya around :)**


	15. Chapter 15 - Coming Clean

**Hi. I'm really sorry it took me this long to write a new chapter, but I had sort of a writer block on this story. However, since the block seems to have disappeared, I wrote a new chapter. I hope you'll like this one.**

 **Also, I wrote a short one-shot about Spider-Man and the Avengers, so if you like the Marvel's favorite wall-crawler, you could check it out, I would appreciate it as well.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Superman, but I do own Sarah Wilson, her family and.. her past.**

* * *

Chapter 15 - Coming Clean

Sarah didn't know what to do. It's been over a week since the kidnapping. She stayed at the hospital for a couple more days, though she wasn't hurt too badly.. okay, maybe she was, but she didn't care at the moment. Currently, she was lying on her bed. It was Thursday, but she is staying home until the end of the week. But that's not the problem.

She didn't know whether to tell Clark about her.. past. She didn't know how he would react.

„ _What if he left me?"_ she thought. _„Oh, for god's sake, Wilson. He wouldn't leave you just because of something like this. He is not like that. You know him. Of course he wouldn't leave you."_

She never opened up to somebody like that. Aunt Ria and uncle Frank were an exception, but otherwise..

„Argh!" yelled Sarah (more like whisper-yelled) in frustration and buried her face into the pillow. „Being in a relationship is harder than I thought it would be.."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Fortress of Solitude, as Clark called it, he was working on his little project. The project was a suit. But not just a suit. A suit made out of a combination of Kryptonian and Earth material based on Kryptonian blueprints (or.. holoprints.. or whatever).

The suit itself would be a form of a nano-tech self-repairing armor, but it would not be an armor entirely, since he was.. you know.. invulnerable. But it would give him a form of protection against radiation and stuff like that.

There would be some little gadgets in it, such as belt, and the suit will have some functions on its own.

He hasn't decided about the color yet. He knew he would want it in a little brighter colors, as to not seem very dangerous. He also knew that he didn't want anything too bright, as to not attract too much attention, though he knew it was bound to happen.

Didn't Sarah mention she liked blue a while ago? Oh yeah, she definitely did mention it. Super-memory, remember?

He also liked blue, but he also loved red. So, red and blue.. nice combination if you play with the color. But he wanted to add a little yellow to it as well. You know, yellow sun and all that?

Suddenly, his mind flashed back to Sarah. He's been visiting her in the hospital every single day until her release, and even then, he kept his eye on her. He knew there was something more about this kidnapping than what it seemed, but he didn't want to pressure her. She had a lot on her plate as it is.

He saved the suit schemes and holoprints into the computer and went to do his training. He still hasn't learned how to fly. Yet.

Lex Luthor was sitting in his office in Metropolis when his phone rang. He answered it, of course.

„Luthor speaking."

„ _Mr. Luthor? This is Dr. Stone. We've come to a big breakthrough in Project: Metacontrol, but I don't think it's wise to talk about it via phone,"_ came the voice of one of Lex's best scientists, Dr. Elinore Stone.

Luthor cracked a little smile at that.

„Very well, Dr. Stone. I will come to your lab tomorrow and you will show me the progress."

* * *

Sarah slowly made her way to the Kent Farm, where she decided to „come clean" and tell Clark about her past.

When she came there, she gently knocked on the front door. Not even a minute after, the door opened and revealed Martha Kent standing there. Sarah smiled at her.

„Good evening, Mrs. Kent. Is Clark home?" she asked politely.

Martha gave her a warm smile and hugged her.

„Hey, sweetie, how are you? Yes, he is upstairs."

Martha basically loved Sarah. Though she met her only a couple of times, one of which was when Clark went to the hospital to visit her and Martha tagged along, they really, as teenagers say these day, ‚hit it off'.

„Oh, you know, same old, same old," answered Sarah with a gentle smile. Martha motioned for her to come inside.

„Hi, Mr. Kent," said Sarah politely when she entered, seeing the man sitting in front of the TV and.. reading newspapers?

Jonathan Kent turned around and smiled. „Hey, Sarah. It's nice to see you. How are you?" he asked. Sarah just shrugged and answered in the same way she answered to Mrs. Kent.

„Clark, you've got a visitor!" yelled Martha, though she knew there wasn't a need. Jonathan used to make jokes about Clark hearing Martha's heartbeat on the other side of the planet, which wasn't that far from the truth.

Clark listened to Sarah's heartbeat, not hers.

„ _Speak of the devil,"_ Martha thought as Clark came downstairs.

His eyes immediately locked with Sarah's. He wasn't wearing his glasses, which was always a plus, since Sarah loved those inhumanly blue eyes of his. She came close to him and quickly hugged him.

„Hey, Clark. Uh, can we talk for a few minutes.. privately?" she whispered into his ear. After she pulled away, he looked down at her (seriously, how tall is he? It seems he's getting taller and taller still) and nodded slowly, with an expression of seriousness on his face.

„Sure. My room?"

Sarah just nodded and not even a few seconds later, she found herself going into Clark's room, his hand clasped in hers. He gently closed the door behind him.

This was the first time Sarah's seen his room. She looked around. The room was so.. Clark. She couldn't describe it. Of course, there were some posters on the wall – which teenager did have posters on the wall? Well, she didn't, but that's not the point.

She looked at each of the posters, and she found out it was mostly of bands and.. and a poster of Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out. Oh, well.. she chuckled a little at that.

„What's so funny?" asked Clark with a little smile on his own. Sarah just looked at him and gestured to the Einstein poster. His eyes flicked to it and he chuckled as well.

„Yeah, yeah, I know, but it's my favorite poster.." he protested a little weakly, but she started laughing a little harder.

She then looked around again, but not at the walls. She came over to his desk, and didn't see anything standing out in particular. There was a normal computer, some books, a photo of her, some more books.. wait, a photo of her?

She looked at it. Well, it wasn't just a photo of her. It was a photo of HIM and HER. In the picture, she was grinning widely while Clark was kissing her cheek. She remembered the day well, it was just couple of weeks ago.

„So.." Clark said as he shifted his weight from one foot to another, „what did you want to talk about?"

Sarah then looked at him and smiled, though Clark could see she smiled a little.. sadly. She sat on the bed and gestured for him to sit beside her. Of course, he obeyed.

„I think it's time.. to tell you about my... uh.. my past.. and the reason behind my kidnapping," she said. Clark looked at her, a little alarmed. He didn't miss the few cracks in her voice. He touched her hand gently.

„Hey, it's okay. Are you sure? I don't want to push you or anything like that," he said while he looked into her eyes. She was taken aback by the sincerity in his voice and the warmness in his eyes, though she really shouldn't be.

„N-No, it's okay. You deserve to know and I.. and I need to tell you this. I would tell you sooner or later, so it doesn't matter now, does it?" she asked while she gave him a little laugh.

„Okay.." he said, a little hesistant.

And so, she started.

„Well, let's start at the beginning.. I was born in Gotham City to my parents, Jack," her voice cracked after she said the name, „and Adrianne. My parents were a happy couple. When I was about 4 years old, my father lost his job, and he started to drink slowly afterwards.."

Sarah now had unshed tears in her eyes, but she blinked them out. Clark just squeezed her hand a little tighter, offering her his support. She smiled at him and cupped his cheek, and.. continued.

„When my faster was drunk, he would.. be aggressive. He started abusing my mother, and it didn't take long to take his frustration out on me, too," she said quietly, the tears now falling freely.

Sarah told herself that she wouldn't cry. There were people who went through much more than she has, and they don't wuss about it. But she just couldn't control it. Clark's gentle voice got her out of her thoughts.

„Sarah, you don't need to tell me anything if you don't want to."

Sarah just looked at him and slowly made her way onto his lap. Clark didn't hesitate and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer and offering the comfort she knew no one else would be able to offer her, not uncle Frank, not even aunt Ria.

„Yeah, I know. But I want to tell you. So just.. let me continue, okay?" she quietly asked into his chest.

„Okay," he whispered slowly and kissed her at the top of her head.

„When I was 5, my mom gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She named him Tobias.. I chose the name, I've always liked the name," she said quietly. Clark put his finger under her chin and slowly lifted her head up, so that she would look at him.

„It's a beautiful name," he said.

Sarah chuckled at this. „I know."

„By then, I started training martial arts, so that I could protect myself, my mother, and, of course, my new little brother. Even though I was 5, I wanted to protect my family no matter what," she said quietly, her voice cracking at the end of the sentence.

Clark understood what she meant. He wanted to protect his family no matter what, too. He wanted to protect HER no matter what.

He started rubbing comforting circles on her back with his hand, and she sighed slowly.

„Anyway, my father started.. abusing us.. even when he was sober, so that didn't help our situation very much. It continued to be this way until sometime last year. Until he came home that night," the tears started falling in large quantities, but she didn't care. She continued.

„He was drunker than ever before. I don't think I've seen him be this drunk like that. Ever. He started saying something about us being a bad family. My mom tried to get him to bed, so that he wouldn't do something, but she found out herself that she couldn't. It didn't take him very long to start beating her. When I tried to stop it, he started beating me, too.

„Yeah, I may be skilled in martial arts, but when I saw him.. I just froze. It was like my mind went into overdrive, I couldn't fight him. But I tried, anyway. It wasn't until I heard the sound of glass shattering that I opened my eyes."

Clark just held her a little tighter, and she buried her face into his chest. She started breathing a little faster now. Maybe a panic attack setting in? She's never had a panic attack before, nor did she have an anxiety.

Clark just rocked her back and forth, whispering comforting words into her ear.

He heard the door slowly open and saw his mom peaking in, checking on them, because they were here for a long time. She saw his son hugging Sarah gently, and her apparently crying. She looked at Clark and he just slowly shook his head.

She got the message. She slowly closed the door and went back downstairs.

Sarah didn't seem to notice anything, and if she did, she didn't say anything. After a few more minutes, she continued.

„I opened my eyes and saw Toby with remains of a beer bottle in his hands, and pieces of the bottle on my father's head. It was then that he went absolutely berserk. He started hitting my brother extremely hard. My mother tried to stop it, but he then started hitting her as well.

„I just laid there. Completely frozen, unable to do anything. And I'll never forgive myself for that, Clark. He killed them. He killed my brother and mother," she said, now sobbing louder than before. Clark tried to calm her down, but even he now had tears in his eyes.

If he got his hands on him...

„The neighbors apparently heard the screams from our apartment and called the police. They came in just before he had the chance to go for me. They arrested him, he went to prison. And I moved here, to my uncle and aunt," she stammered out, still crying.

„Hey. It's not your fault. Do you hear me, Sarah? It's not. Your. Fault," said Clark.

Sarah just looked at him. „If I hadn't frozen.. If I just.."

„No, Sarah. You couldn't have done anything. You were fifteen. And no one should went through anything you already have. It is not your fault. It wasn't your fault your father started drinking. It wasn't your fault he started abusing you. And it certainly wasn't your fault that he... that he..."

„Killed my brother and mom?" she quietly finished for him. Clark just gulped and nodded.

Sarah didn't know if she would ever believe this. Clark believed it wasn't her fault. Aunt Ria and uncle Frank believed it wasn't her fault, but she didn't know whether she would ever believe it. So, for now, she just accepted the comforting words and put her head on Clark's chest again. His t-shirt was still soaked from her tears, but she didn't care at the moment.

The only thing she needed was Clark and Clark alone. She could feel Clark shifting and found herself lying on his bed, or rather.. lying mostly on him and partly on his bed. She sighed a little and closed her eyes again. The.. confession.. emotionally and physically tired her, and Clark seemed to sense this, so he just held her tight and kissed her forehead.

„I love you," she mumble-whispered as she slowly drifted off in Clark's warm embrace.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading this chapter. I would really appreciate if you left behind a review on this chapter and told me your thoughts on it.**

 **I also feel like I didn't give Sarah enough.. time to develop as a character, and I decided to change it a little bit, so the next few chapters will be mainly focused on Sarah (and, of course, her relationship with Clark), but also her friends, family, and stuff like this.**

 **See ya around :)**


	16. Chapter 16 - Training

**Hi. This chapter will mainly revolve around Sarah. I'm sorry if it's short, but I'm tired as hell, and I was in the mood, so.. here you go. Thank you for all of your reviews, I really appreciate them.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman, but I own Sarah Wilson, who is a badass on its own.**

* * *

Sarah slowly opened her eyes, and she can't say that the sight surprised her. Next to her, or rather, underneath her, was Clark. She immediately remembered the events of last night and how incredibly understanding her boyfriend was.

She gently smiled at the thought. Clark, as if sensing somebody was moving next to him, slowly opened his eyes, too. After his inhumanly blue orbes caught the sight of her grayish blue, he got a look of adoration in his eyes. But there was something else. Was it.. love?

„Good morning," mumbled Clark in, what Sarah presumed, was Clark's morning voice. Rich, deep (as usual) and very soothing, while still looking at her.

Sarah smiled at him and wished him a good morning as well. But wait.. didn't Clark have school today? And.. oh.. Frank and Ria are sooo going to kill her.

„What time is it?" she asked, a little frantically, but she made no moves to get out of Clark's embrace. She still had her head on his chest.

Clark mumbled something she couldn't hear and looked at the clock on the wall, which she hadn't noticed before.

„7:30AM," he grumbled and pulled her closer into his chest.

„Clark, I love this as much as you do, but shouldn't you like.. go to school today?" she asked.

She couldn't see Clark face, the sigh that came from him was an answer on its own. Reluctantly, he removed his hands from her back.

„I think Frank and Ria are going to kill me," she said after she stood up. There were some dried tears on her face, and she could feel them, so she asked Clark where the bathroom was and if she could use it. Clark showed her and told her he'll be downstairs, along with his parents, who are bound to be up.

* * *

After she cleaned her face and tried to save her hair (she failed), she made her way downstairs, where the family was already sitting and eating breakfast.

„Good morning, Sarah," said Jonathan with a warm smile on his face.

„Good morning, honey. What would you like?" asked Martha with a smile on her face, not unlike Jonathan's. She couldn't help but smile back.

„Good morning to you, too. I should probably go, aunt Ria and uncle Frank are probably going to kill me, I scared them to death, most likely. But thank you for your offer, it's very kind of you," said Sarah with a warm smile on her own.

With parents like these, it was no surprise that Clark was the most gentle, caring and sweet person she's ever met.

„We called them yesterday and told them you were staying the night, so that shouldn't be a problem. Now, sweetheart, you need to eat. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, honey," said Martha with a soft smile on her face.

Sarah just smiled at that and looked at Clark. He was giving her a toothy grin, showing off his pearly white teeth.

„Well, if you don't mind," she said reluctantly and sat next to Clark. She took some pancakes and Martha offered her some orange juice.

And it's official – Martha Kent was the best cook in the world. No offense to aunt Ria, but.. those were the best pancakes she's ever had. They talked about everything during breakfast, but the Kents were very interested in her – her hobbies, favorite things, if she had any friends in the new town and stuff like that.

And truth be told, she doesn't have many friends. She had some friends in Gotham city, like Barbara. It was thanks to her father that her father was sent to jail very quickly and that she moved over here. He was a commissioner, and probably the only non-corrupt one.

But she does have Clark, and she gets along with Lana and Chloe well, too, though they don't talk much.

* * *

After they finished eating, Clark decided to walk her home.

„What's with all the protectiveness, Mr. Kent?" she asked once they were outside of their house.

It was mid-March, but it was still very cold, so she snuggled into Clark a little – he was incredibly warm, and she told him so.

Clark just smiled at her and didn't answer her question, though she had a feeling she knew what it was all about.

„Clark, you know I can take care of myself, right?" she asked as she look up at him, still snuggled into him.

Clark sighed. „Yeah, I know that."

„Alright. Good"

When they came to her house, Clark stopped in front of the front porch.

„I'll see you later, okay?" he said, and she nodded. He bent down and kissed her gently, and she responded in the same way. She was ready to deepen the kiss, but just then, the front door opened with aunt Ria looking at them.

„Good morning, Sarah, Clark," she said. Clark immediately stopped kissing her and looked at Ria.

„Good morning, Mrs. Wilson," said Clark while giving her a charming, yet warm smile.

Aunt Ria just chuckled. „Alright, lovebirds. Sarah, come inside, it's freezing outside."

* * *

The weekend (and Friday) passed in a blur – most of the time, she was either at home, playing video games (so what? She loves it) or spending time with her amazing boyfriend.

Monday came and go, and no one was giving her pitying looks, except for a few individuals, and she was grateful for it. She didn't want anyone's pity.

Classes were still easy, even though she, ehm, didn't catch up on them. She had a free period after Biology, which was her favorite subject. She didn't know what to do. Normally, she would be spending time with Clark or something, but he had English, which bored him to death, according to him.

So you could say she was surprised when Lana Lang approached her.

„Hey, Sarah. How are you?" she asked gently, though there was no pity in her eyes, which she appreciated a lot.

„Hey, Lana. I'm good, coping. How about you?"

Lana just shrugged her shoulders a little. Lana was a beautiful girl, even Sarah could see that. She had a fiery red hair, beautiful green eyes, good build and was a little bit taller than her, around 5'7, while Sarah was 5'5.

Of course she knew about her past relationship with Clark – he told her. And he also told her that they both figured out that they weren't meant for each other, so they parted ways – they still stayed good friends, though, which Sarah was grateful for. Clark needed friends. Everyone needed friends.

„Listen, I know it may sound a little... weird. But you know martial arts, right?" asked Lana and her cheeks flushed a little.

Was Lana.. shy? Well, apparently.

It was Sarah's turn to shrug her shoulders. „Yeah, why?"

Lana then looked at her, still flushed, but with a gentle smile. „I wanted to ask you.. if you could.. you know.. train me a little? Some self-defense?"

Oh. She definitely didn't see that coming, though she probably should have, just from the little blush that adorned Lana's cheeks.

„Yeah, sure. Do you have any place we could train?" she asked. Lana nodded and proceeded to take out a notepad and a pen. She wrote an address.

„It's a gym not far from here, they have rings, punching bags, and even classic stuff, like dumbbells and so on. I can see you work out, so you could go there in your free time if you want to. When are you free?"

Sarah looked at the address and memorized it. And when was she free? Well, probably anytime. „I don't know, around 3:30PM?" she asked, a little uncertain. Lana just nodded at her.

„Meet you there?"

„Yep."

* * *

The training session went good. Sarah was a little surprised, but it was good to use her skill again, and Lana was a very good student, she was training hard, and she didn't back down. She liked it. They trained, they talked, they laughed, they trained again, laughed again, it was fun.

Sarah looked at the clock and saw that it was 6PM already.

„Oh, shit. It's 6 already. Sorry, hun, gotta go," said Sarah jokingly. Lana laughed and quickly hugged her.

„Alrighty. Thank you so much, Sarah, I really appreciate it. I may not know you that good, but I would definitely like to get to know you better," said Lana with a warm smile.

Sarah reciprocated the smile. „Likewise, Lana. Alright, tomorrow, 3:30PM on the dot, got it?" she asked in a mock-stern-general-kind-of voice. Lana laughed and nodded.

The two then parted ways.

* * *

„Hello, Dr. Stone. You told me you've made a breakthrough in Project: Metacontrol?" asked Lex Luthor as he looked around the lab located in the outskirts of Metropolis.

Dr. Elinore Stone made her way over to him. „Yes, Mr. Luthor."

„Show me."

* * *

If you asked Sarah, she would say that she wasn't tired. But yes, she was tired. She laid down on her bed with a sigh. Apparently, she made a new friend today. Yay. And she spent some time with Clark. Double yay. And she was tired. No yay.

With that, she fell asleep.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading this chapter :)**

 **5'7 - cca 170cm**

 **5'5 - cca 165cm**

 **See ya around :)**


	17. Chapter 17 - Robbery

**Hi. So, here I am, with yet another chapter of the story. I'm sorry the chapter is this short, probably the shortest one yet (not counting the prologue), but hey, at least it's something, right?**

 **Thank you all for your kind reviews, it really means a lot to me.**

 **Without further ado, here is chapter 17.**

* * *

Chapter 17 - Robbery

Sarah has a suspicion that her dork of a boyfriend might be a metahuman. She's had this suspicion ever since Clark was able to defeat one of the physically ( _known_ , she reminded herself) metahumans without basically a scratch on him.

She decided then that she would not push him, reasoning that he would tell her whenever he felt ready, which, she hoped, will be soon. Relationships are built on trust, and she already trusts him like she's never trusted anyone before in her entire 17 year old long life, and she just hopes that he'll be able to trust her like this soon.

On the lighter note, her life is now better than ever. True, the police still didn't find her father, who escaped shortly after.. well, after SHE escaped, but she can't let that stop her. It's been a few weeks since she started training Lana in self-defense, and over time, they sort of.. bonded, should she say, and the two of them became friends pretty fast.

Lana is a fast learner and a good student, and she's grateful for that.

It's now the middle of April and, surprisingly, the school year will be ending in a few short weeks. Sarah can barely believe that she's been living in Smallville for almost 8 months already, and even more surprised to discover that she's been dating Clark for almost 5 months, even though it seemed like a month, tops.

She is currently in school, trying to open her locker (unsuccessfully) and get the (note)books she's going to need for her next (and favorite) class – Biology.

Just as she was about to punch a hole in the locker, a familiar, gentle voice called out to her.

„Hey, Sarah."

She smiled softly at that.. She doesn't even need to turn around to know who's behind her, but she does so, anyway, because who wouldn't want to look at him?

Him, of course, being Clark Kent, the dorky farm boy extraordinaire. And, yeah, in front of her stands Clark Kent in all of his glory, with that gentle smile on his face he gets only when around her, the soft, unkempt raven black hair, and, of course, his glasses, which give him a sort-of sexy, nerdy look.

„Hi," she said, letting the happiness at the sight of him seep into her voice. Apparently, he heard the happiness in her voice, and his smile only grew wider.

„Where you heading off to?"

„I've got Biology, but I guess I'm going to be late, as it seems I can't open the goddamn locker. I swear to God, my locker hates me," she grumbled, the happiness from her voice gone, now replaced with irritation.

Clark, of course, chuckled at that. And as a proper girlfriend, Sarah punched him lightly into the shoulder.

„Would you like some help with that?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

She only nodded.

Clark then proceeded to lightly punch the locker, successfully opening it. Sarah just gaped.

„What the hell did just happen?"

He just shrugged.

„Gotta go, I have English now," he shivered as he said it, and Sarah giggled.

Since when did she giggle? Well, since she started dating him, of course.

„Bored much?" she asked with a smile.

Clark just shrugged again. What is it with him and shrugging today? She would shrug at that, but that would just be too weird.

„Alright, go, you big baby, or you're gonna be late, as will I, if you're planning on talking to me the whole period," she teased.

He just laughed, leaned in a little bit and kissed her on the forehead.

„Fine, fine, I'm going.. see you later."

And with that, the tall, dark and handsome strolled away, leaving Sarah alone amongst the crowd(s) of students in the hallway of Smallville High.

* * *

„Nice office," was the first thing that came out of Winslow Schott's mouth upon entering the office of Lex Luthor.

„Thank you," answered Lex half-heartedly, „but I don't care what you think. Now, we need to talk business. Can you build it or not?"

Schott, or Toyman, as he liked to call himself, looked at the basic schematics for a new machine – a very big gas disperser able to form a cloud of gas around an entire city. He shrugged.

„Most likely. I have a few conditions, though," said Toyman after he finished looking through the basics.

Luthor's cold, green eyes locked with his, and Toyman had the urge to shiver.

„I'm listening."

Toyman cleared his throat and started talking. „First, none of this goes back to me – no one will ever find out I've built this. Second, you'll pay me half now, half after it's finished," Luthor's eyes narrowed a bit at that, but he didn't interrupt him, „third, you'll give me any resources I'll need, and lastly, I get to keep the schematics. Do we have a deal?"

Luthor seemed to think it over, and after a few minutes, he nodded. Toyman stood up, as did Lex, and offered him his hand to shake.

„I'll have it ready for you within the next 6 months," said Toyman as Lex accepted the handshake.

* * *

Clark quickly wrote an article for the Torch about football. He discovered he had quite the talent for writing – well, according to Chloe – and he enjoyed it, too!

After that, he packed all his stuff into his backpack and made his way home, where he was greeted by the sight of his parents working on the farm.

„Hey, ma, pa, anything I can help you with?" smiled Clark at his parents after he put his backpack in his room and made his way outside.

Martha beamed at him and Jonathan chuckled.

„Well, of course, there is always something for you, son. The tractor broke down again somewhere on the field and I need you to carry it into the barn so we can repair it later, alright?" asked Jonathan. After Clark nodded, he heard him muttering something along the lines of never expecting a sentence like this to come out of his mouth.

Clark chuckled at that. Yep, just an ordinary day.

He made his way over to the tractor, which he found thanks to his vision abilities, and proceeded to gently pick it up – it felt like a feather in his arms, not almost a 10 ton piece of metal.. and some other stuff mixed into it as well.

That, of course, didn't come to him as a surprise, as he was training in his fortress a lot these past few weeks, pushed himself in terms of strength (and other abilities as well), and, lastly, did some scans on his body and found out that the older he gets, the stronger he gets.

He still can't fly, though, but he can feel it. He will be able to in a very short time. Suddenly, Clark's sensitive hearing started to pick up something. He focused on it.

„ _GET ON THE GROUND, THIS IS A ROBBERY! NOW, IF YOU WANT TO LIVE-"_

Clark started running after the sound basically on instinct, not thinking about the consequences. There was basically no crime in Smallville – the last robbery happened around 5 or 6 years ago. Smallville, of course, being the small town that it is, barely had any crimes after that – maybe some graffiti here and there.

Upon arriving to his destination, he found out that the robbery was happening at a small jewelry store in the downtown – the sheriff was already there, as was the rest of the entire police department of Smallville, as it seems.

The hostages were all standing right next to the windows, giving barely any visibility of the events happening inside of the store.

Clark, however, had a few advantages. For example, his x-ray vision – after activating it, he discovered three heavily armed men with sky masks on. This was no ordinary robbery.

 _Can't think about it right now. There are people inside. Alright, Kent, just be extremely fast, and don't let anyone come into harm's way,_ thought Clark dryly. He planned his movement strategically, as to not hurt any of the hostages in the store. When he felt time slow around him, or rather, his brain starting to work far faster than humanly possible, he started running at an incredible speed. He went through the door of the store, grabbed the three men and put them right next to the police officers, their weapons melted with his heat vision.

Clark then immediately fled the scene at an extremely fast speed, the people around him only noticing a strong gust of wind right next to them.

* * *

 **10 tons - approximately 22 204 pounds**

 **Thank you for reading this chapter. As always, leave a review behind and tell me what do you think is Lex's plan? :)**

 **See you (read you.. write you.. whatever? :D) next time.**


	18. Chapter 18 - Truth or Dare?

**Hi, I'm back again with yet another SHORT chapter of this story. I'm sorry if it's too short, I wanted it to be longer, but I was not so lucky. Please, leave a review after reading, I would appreciate it very** **much.**

 **And Merry Christmas to you all! :)**

* * *

Chapter 18 - Truth or Dare?

„Urgh," grunted Lana as she fell on the ground. Again.

She's been training some self-defense with Sarah these past few weeks, and it was fun. Well, except for the bruises she got after every training session.

„Not bad. You ducked successfully at first, you even blocked, but the next reaction was too slow. Nevertheless, it was a good job. Go take a break, we'll continue in five minutes," said, or maybe ordered, Sarah, standing above her with a slight smirk on her face, but with a genuine expression, wearing a pair of leggings and a tank top.

Lana got up slowly. And painfully. She went over to the bench where her towel and water bottle were, sat down and started drinking in big gulps.

After she finished drinking, she looked at Sarah, who's barely broken a sweat (they've been training for almost an hour).

„Sarah, there's something I wanted to ask you," said Lana. Sarah then looked at her with a curious, yet questioning expression on her face.

„Yeah?"

„You see, my parents are gone for the weekend, and I'm having a slumber party with some of my friends, including Chloe, who I'm sure you already know, as she's Clark's best friend and all that," Sarah nodded at that and urged her to continue on, although she had an idea of where this was going, „and I wanted to ask you if you'd like to come?"

Sarah seemed to be think about it, although her mind was already made.

„Yeah, sure," she answered with a smile.

Lana sighed with relief – she hoped Sarah would come, yet she didn't know if she'd want to – until now.

„Okay, Saturday, my house, 6PM, got it?" asked Lana and Sarah only nodded at her.

„Alright, break's over, get your ass over here."

Lana grumbled something incoherent while Sarah laughed. And thus began the second part of their training.

* * *

Clark was in his fortress in the Arctic, still designing his supersuit while thinking about Sarah. About how dishonest he was being with her. She told him everything about her past, yet he didn't tell her about his heritage.. and abilities.

 _What if she doesn't accept me? What if she thinks I'm a freak? A monster?  
She wouldn't do that. Or would she?_

He'll tell her. He doesn't know when, he doesn't know how, and he doesn't know where. But he will tell her. Soon.

* * *

It's currently Friday and Clark has finally decided that he would tell her this Saturday. He'd invite her over, make dinner (Ma didn't raise no fool), have a good time and then.. then he'd tell her everything. EVERYTHING.

And so, with that in mind, he called her.

„ _Hello?"_ asked the groggy voice of his girlfriend.

„Hey. Sorry, did I wake you?" asked Clark, a little concerned – it's only.. oh, 12AM.

He heard a faint chuckle. „No, Clark, I've been planing to pull an allnighter. Why, is something wrong?"

„N-no, I just.. wanted to ask you if you'd like to come to dinner this Saturday, you know, just me and you, I'd even cook," exclaimed Clark, quietly, as his parents were still asleep.

There was a momentary silence and then, when she started speaking, her voice sounded a little... apologetic?

„Oh, Clark, I'm sorry, but Lana invited me over this Saturday for a slumber party, and you know I don't have many friends, so..." she left the sentence unfinished.

Of course Clark knew she didn't have many friends – and he even urged her to make some, except for him, obviously, and he was very happy when he saw her and Lana together, laughing about something in the school hallway. And, of course, he knows how much it means to her – having friends, someone she could rely on. With that in mind, he answered her.

„Hey, it's alright. How about Sunday?"

„That would be great!"

„Alright, I'll call you, and sorry I woke you up, go back to sleep," said Clark softly when he heard her yawn.

„Okay. G'night, Clarkie," she whispered, already half asleep.

Clark chuckled at her antics – Clarkie? Sure, why not.

He'd tell her this Sunday, then.

* * *

Saturday came much faster than Sarah anticipated, and she felt nervous. Would they accept her? Would they like her? What should she wear? Should she bring some pajamas with her?

 _Duh, Wilson, it's a sleepover,_ she thought dryly.

„Aunt Ria? Uncle Frank?" asked Sarah as she descended downstairs to the kitchen – she overslept a little, as it was lunch already – she missed her morning run.

 _Reminder to myself – tell Clark to start running with me, it's gonna be fun._

Uncle Frank looked up from his newspaper and slid down his reading glasses, revealing his warm blue eyes, not unlike Sarah's own – yet it still sometimes reminds her of the eyes of somebody else – someone cold, and abusi—

 _Don't even go there, Wilson. Don't ruin your day,_ she scolded herself mentally.

„Yeah, pumpkin?" he asked.

Sarah then came back to reality. „Yeah, I just wanted to ask you if I could come over to a friend's house, she's having a slumber party tonight with some girls from school and she invited me yesterday, and I forgot to tell you about it."

Uncle Frank just smiled softly. „Of course. What friend is it?"

Sarah grinned cheekily and kissed her uncle's cheek. „Thank you! Oh, her name's Lana Lang."

With that, she stormed out of the room and went upstairs. She had some homework to do.

* * *

Evening came and Sarah found herself in front of the Lang house – in fact, it was not that much far away from the Kent farm, only about a mile or so. She gently knocked on the door, and not even a minute later, the familiar petite redhead opened the door.

„Hey, Sarah, I'm glad you came," said Lana excitedly as she hugged her. Sarah gladly returned the hug.

„I told you I'd come, didn't I?" said Sarah with a smile of her own. Lana gestured for her to follow her, and so, Sarah did.

They went over to the living room (probably.. and obviously), where 4 other girls were sitting – all of them already in their pajamas, which Sarah noticed only now, was exactly what was Lana wearing, too.

She only recognized one of them – a short-haired brown girl with blue eyes and red pajamas (and one of Clark's best friends), Chloe Sullivan.

„Girls, this is Sarah Wilson, I told you about her," said Lana with a beaming smile that would make every single guy's legs in the school (well, except for one) turn into jelly.

„Oh, yeah! Welcome, Sarah," said a pretty blonde girl with warm brown eyes and a genuine smile, „I'm Evelyn. It's nice to meet you."

„Likewise, Evelyn," smiled Sarah.

Chloe stood up as well and hugged her quickly, saying hi to her as well.

„Alright, I see that Eve already introduced herself, and you already know Chloe. So," said Lana as she gestured to a small brunette with bright green eyes wearing a white over-sized t-shirt with Scooby Doo on it and pink pajama bottoms, „this is Lily, she's a freshman, and this," she gestured to another brunette, this time with dark brown eyes, wearing a blue onesie, „is Maddie."

Sarah greeted every single one of them, which, let's be honest, wasn't that much, and changed into her pajamas – she wasn't self-conscious around other girls as much as around.. EVERYONE else, but for some personal reasons, she changed in Lana's bedroom.

At about 8:30PM, Evelyn, or Eve, as everyone seems to call her, decided that they should play a game.

„How about Truth or Dare?" proposed Maddie with a grin. Everyone grunted their disapproval, but after some urging and pursuing and whatnot, the other girls finally relented.

„Alright, first question, I start. Lana," said Chloe with a cheshire grin while Lana rolled her eyes.

„Yeah?"

„Truth or dare?" asked Chloe with a twinkle in her eyes.

Lana thought about it for a second, and then answered. „Truth."

Chloe's grin grew wider and wider. „Alrighty, then. Who was your first kiss?"

At that, Lana started blushing profusely, and it seemed to Sarah that the color of her cheeks now matched the color of her hair.

She mumbled something incoherent. „What?" asked Sarah, not hearing anything.

This time, Lana's answer was a little bit louder. „It was Clark.."

At that, everyone in the room started laughing.

„Clark Kent? Well, I gotta say, he is a hunk.." stated Eve with a teasing smile.

„Alright, next!" said Sarah sternly, although everyone could see that she was very amused.

„Okay, okay, okay," said Lana, „Eve. Truth or dare?"

„Truth."

Lana got that teasing smile on her face that Sarah recognized all too well, „Who do you have a crush on?"

Of course, Eve rolled her eyes and sighed.

„Alright, I have a crush on two guys – one of which was mentioned earlier here," she started blushing, too.

„Just spit it out, Eve," grumbled Maddie, but was smiling nevertheless.

„Jason Filch and Clark Kent."

Sarah just sighed. Why does everyone has a crush on her boyfriend? Well, not everyone, but.. okay, she knows why.

The girls started laughing again, including Sarah, who thought it was funny.. a little.

„Alright, alright. Now, Sarah, truth or dare?" asked Eve.

Sarah thought about it – dare would be fun, but..

„Truth."

„I knew it!" exclaimed Eve, „hmm.. how about.. your dream job?"

„Biologist," answered Sarah immediately.

And the next questions were pretty much in the same kind – like who has the most beautiful eyes [Clark Kent, who else? „Have you seen his eyes without the glasses?"], favorite book, favorite superhero [everyone answered Black Canary – she is a badass after all], and so on.

They then watched a movie – they voted, of course, and of course, Sarah and Maddie, who wanted to watch Captain America: The First Avenger, were outvoted by Lana, Chloe and Eve, who all wanted to watch The Age of Adaline.

„How is it that she doesn't age? This isn't scientifically possible," grumbled Sarah a few times during the movie.

„Relax, hon, it's just a movie. And don't tell me that super-soldiers are scientifically possible," retorted Eve with a teasing smile.

The rest of the night was amazing, because after they finished the movie, they had a pillow fight – which Maddie won, and played some board games.. and talked about guys. It was then that Maddie and Eve found out that Clark is Sarah's boyfriend. Needless to say, their reactions were priceless.

* * *

It was Sunday evening and Clark's parents went to Metropolis to some farming convention, leaving Clark the whole house to himself – which is awesome, considering that Sarah is going to come for dinner and Clark will tell her everything and answer any questions she'd ask.

„Okay, but how do I tell her? ‚What do you think about the rice? Oh, and by the way, I'm a superpowered alien from a long-dead planet. Would you pass me the salt, please?' Nope. Definitely not. No, no, no, no, no. Come on, Kent.." mumbled Clark to himself.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Clark went to open the door, but stopped. He x-rayed the door, and to his surprise, it wasn't Sarah standing behind the door.

It was Killer Croc.

* * *

 **So, this is the end of the 18th chapter, I hope you liked it. If there are any spelling errors, feel free to warn me about them in your review. Thank you.**

 **And yeah, this is my cannon - MCU exists in this universe.**


	19. Chapter 19 - A Secret Revealed

**Hi. It's me again, with yet another new chapter.**

 **I just wanted to thank you so much for bearing with me and reading the story, even though I know it isn't perfect - believe me, I know that very well. I appreciate it immensely. I know this story may seem a bit boring, but trust me, I have big plans for it, but you have to bear with me for at least a couple of chapters.**

 **I rewrote this chapter about 3 times, yet I'm still not 100% satisfied with how it turned out.. :D**

 **Also, I wanted to wish you a Happy New Year :)**

* * *

Chapter 19 - A Secret Revealed

Sarah was currently making her way over to the Kent farm where she and Clark would have dinner. He sounded more serious over the phone when they arranged it, and she didn't know why. Well, she had an idea why, but she didn't want to get her hopes up.

Her idea was that Clark may finally tell her about him being a metahuman – if he IS a metahuman, that is, but she decided she wouldn't think about it right now, and instead focused on her surroundings.

It was a Sunday evening, the sun hasn't gone down yet, and she currently walking on the side of the road with her classic dress up – skinny jeans, t-shirt and a black jacket. Finally, she arrived at the Kent farm, and made her way over to the house.

Suddenly, a green blur passed very fast right next to her – she barely had the time to dodge it. A crack and a painful groan could be heard. She looked behind her, where the blur had apparently hit the barn, when she realized that it was Killer Croc.

Killer Croc, one of the most powerful known metahumans, with superhuman strength, nearly invulnerable skin and crocodile-like teeth. Sarah was not scared easily, but if she had to go toe-to-toe with him, she was 99.83% sure that she would not come out of the fight alive, even with her hand-to-hand abilities.

To her surprise, Croc seemed.. hurt. That was probably the best way to describe it. He barely moved, and if he did, he groaned from pain. She heard a voice behind her, and when she turned around, she saw Clark, missing his glasses, and his blue shirt torn in the torso area, giving Sarah a good look at his 8-pack abs.

Sarah shook her head, trying to stop staring at his abs, and start thinking rationally again.

„Clark? H-How did you do that?" she asked, looking into his eyes, where she saw a flicker of fear.

„I.. uh.. I will explain it to you later, but now, we need to call the police. He apparently escaped Belle Reve penitentiary," said Clark, his voice quieter than usual.

At Sarah's nod, Clark took her hand gently into hers and together, they entered the house.

* * *

Later, after the police was called and after they took Croc, who needed medical attention, Sarah asked him the question again.

„Clark.. what happened? How did you do it?"

Clark sighed and motioned for her to sit down on the couch in the living room. After she sat, he took a deep breath.

„I've wanted to tell you this for a long time, but I wasn't ready, and frankly, I didn't know if you were ready as well. Right now, I'm going to tell you my deepest secret which not many people know, okay? And I need you to promise me something," said Clark, with an undertone of fear in his voice.

 _Why is he so afraid? What is he afraid of?_ thought Sarah.

„Anything, Clark," she said while reaching her hand to his face.

Clark covered his hand in hers, and took another deep breath.

„I need you to promise me that you'll let me explain everything, without making any assumptions or anything like that. Promise me, Sarah. Please."

She didn't know where this was leading, but she knew already that she didn't like it.

„I promise, Clark."

Clark nodded, and she noticed that he wasn't looking into her eyes. What was he afraid of?

„Where should I start?" he asked.

„How about at the beginning?" she suggested carefully, while trying to look him in the eyes.

„Okay. Bear with me, alright?" he watched her nod, and then, he started the story.

„I was not born anywhere near Kansas," he said with a sad smile on his face. Sarah looked into his eyes with a questioning glance, and with an expression that clearly said _I knew it already, Clark, you are adopted,_ but he continued on. „In fact, I wasn't born anywhere near this solar system."

 _Wait, what?_ thought Sarah.

But that would mean. No. Wait. Would that mean? Yes, it would mean THAT.

„Clark.. are you telling me.. that you are an.. alien?" she asked carefully, not knowing if he would suddenly burst out laughing and tell her it was all a joke. But deep inside, she knew he wasn't joking. He wouldn't joke about something like that. Never.

Clark took a shaky breath and nodded, and watched her reaction. Sarah didn't know what to think and motioned for him to go on.

„I was born on planet Krypton, which is around 30 light years away from Earth. Krypton was orbiting one of the only true red suns in the universe, and its gravity was much greater than that of Earth."

Sarah stopped him right there. „Wait. What do you mean by.. was?" she asked. She had an idea about what this meant, but she hoped she's wrong. Please, let her be wrong.

„K-Krypton was destroyed due to its.. unstable core, a few hours before my parents sent me to Earth," he said quietly, as if he still had some trouble believing it himself. Sarah gently took her hand in his, giving it a tight squeeze.

„That's what you meant.. when you said to me a few months ago.. that your parents died trying to save you?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Clark just nodded and continued on.

„My parents, Jor-El and Lara, were scientists. Jor-El discovered that Krypton's core was unstable, yet no one believed him. No one except my mother. They knew they were doomed. And so, they sent me away. They saved my life," he said, a few tears running down his cheeks.

It was one thing listening to it from the holographs of his parents, it was a whole other thing telling it to someone else. He couldn't distance himself from it, no matter how hard he tried it. He just couldn't. Sarah tried to give him as much comfort as she could, and he appreciated it very much. It helped him go through it again, but the pain was still there.

He may have not known Krypton, but he knew his biological parents, and although he still has his adoptive parents, who he loves dearly, he still misses Lara and Jor-El.

„I-I don't know what to say, Clark.. I'm so, so sorry," she said, her voice laced with concern and empathy.

„Uh.. my ship landed in Smallville, where Jonathan and Martha Kent found me. Ma always joked that I accidentally broke her finger the first time she touched me," he gave her a humorless chuckle at that, and she chuckled a little as well, „but I didn't even know I was an.. alien.. until I was sixteen."

She leaned in, kissed his forehead and smiled gently at him. She knew how hard it was for him. Well, okay, she had an idea. When she opened up to him for the first time, after her kidnapping, he was the only thing that kept her going that night. She could let it all out thanks to him – he was her lifeline, she could hold onto him as long as she needed, and she would make sure that he had the same opportunity with her.

She gently stroked his soft locks, while he continued with the story.

„A-as I told you before... or as you've already probably figured it out.. Krypton's gravity and the sun it was orbiting forced Kryptonians to evolve into humanoids, who look exactly like humans in structure, but their biology is c-completely different," she nodded at that – she figures as much.

„Kryptonians were one of the most advanced and oldest civilizations in the universe, which gave them the time to evolve to their maximum potential," the cheeks were now dry, and no more tears coming from his eyes, for the hardest part of the story was finally behind him, „Kryptonians have extremely complex DNA, some organs humans don't have, entirely different molecular structure and density. And because of the red sun Kryptonians were forced to adapt for, their cells can.. absorb the solar radiation of any other star, giving them.. powers," he finished.

Sarah looked sad, curious, concerned, a little shocked, but he did not find pity in his eyes, for which he was extremely grateful. He did not want pity.

„Powers?" she asked curiously, to which he chuckled.

Sarah was a curious girl at heart, with love for Biology, of course she would be curious about that.

„Yeah.. do you think I was able to beat Killer Croc this easily with my charm?" he asked, amusement shining in his blue orbs Sarah's grown to love so much.

Sarah laughed at that, the sound causing Clark to feel butterflies in his stomach. He may not be human, but she did make him feel like a love-struck puppy sometimes.

„Thank you," he said suddenly, every trace of humor from his voice gone, replaced by seriousness and sincerity.

„For what?" she asked him, for she didn't know why would he be thanking her.

„For accepting me. For not being afraid of me. For.. loving me," the last part came out as a whisper, but Sarah heard in nonetheless. She scooped even closed to him, hugging him to her, his head resting under the crook of her head.

„You don't need to thank me, Clark. I'm here for you. Always... oh, and what about the dinner?"

* * *

 **Uff, here, the chapter ends. Please, leave a review with your opinion on the newest chapter, I would really appreciate it. Now, I kind of stole the line of "not being born anywhere near Kansas" from Smallville, but I edited it a little.**

 **Again, sorry for this chapter being so short.**

 **Again (again with the again, huh? :D), I have big plans for this story, so don't worry - chapters will be longer, my writing style will get better (hopefully), as well as my vocabulary will get larger (again, hopefully), and mainly, the story will be less boring.**

 **Thank you for bearing with me :)**


	20. Chapter 20 - Birds and Bees

**Wow! 20 chapters already! This is amazing!**

 **Thank you for your reviews to the latest chapter, they really motivated me to write more and go on, which I immensely appreciate.**

 **Disclaimer, which I apparently always forget: I don't own Superman, but I do own Sarah Wilson.**

* * *

Chapter 20 - Birds and Bees

It's been almost two weeks since Sarah learned the truth about Clark, and honestly, these two weeks had probably been the best of her life. Not only does she now understand Clark almost fully, but there is nothing between them. No barrier, no lies, no secrets. Just honesty. And love.

Clark showed her the Fortress of Solitude, as he called it, and to say she was in awe would be an understatement. She was mesmerized. Not just because of the technology, but because of the culture, and mainly, because she finally understood Clark better.

He showed her the statues of his biological parents, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, and she didn't miss the watery look in his eyes. She knew he must be hurting every single day, yet he still manages to go through it, push past it, and live his live. And she's immensely proud of him for that.

But what intrigued her the most was not the fact that aliens exist, or that she has a chance to learn about their culture. What intrigued her the most was that Clark, literally the most powerful being in the world, who had the power to make even the most powerful metahumans piss their pants, was still the selfless, humble, caring, sweet and dorky farmboy she's grown to love. The last survivor of his species, who doesn't let that stop him, and cares about the people of Earth just like his own. His physical strength may not be outmatched, but his character easily outshines it.

As for Clark, he's never felt happier in his entire life. Everything was perfect. He still wonders how in the world was he able to find someone like Sarah. A girl so brave and independent, yet so caring and compassionate.

For as long as he can remember, Clark's always felt alone. Even with his parents and friends like Chloe, Lana or Pete, he still felt like there was something missing. But now.. now he feels whole, as if for the first time in his life. And he was incredibly happy for it. For her.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Sarah, who took his glasses from his nose and checked them over. He chuckled and asked her what was she doing.

„Do you really need those glasses?" she curiously asked.

„I do and I don't," at her confused expression, he elaborated, „my eyesight is better than 20/20, I can see from miles away, but I have other vision powers. And when I first developed them, which wasn't such a long time ago, I had problem with controlling them. These glasses help me with it. And if one of those powers activates itself when I didn't mean it to, the glasses will be able to stop it," he explained.

Sarah just nodded and went to examining the glasses. „What vision powers do you have, actually?"

„Eh.. I think this is a conversation for another day," he said sheepishly.

* * *

Lex Luthor was working in his office when his phone rang. He reached for it and answered.

„Luthor," he said coolly.

„Mr. Luthor, change of plans. I will be able to deliver the machine to you within 2 months, if you wish," came the squeaking voice of none other than Toyman himself.

Luthor answered with a grin. „Very well, Toyman. Call me when the machine is ready."

He didn't even give Toyman the time to reply, for after he finished the sentence, he hung up.

„MERCY!" he yelled out. A few seconds later, a very pretty brunette with sparkling green eyes wearing dark grey pencil skirt and white blouse came marching through the door, a notebook in her hand.

„Yes, Mr. Luthor?" she asked calmly.

„Does Kent still write for that school paper of his? What's it called? The Fire or something?" he asked.

She seemed to be thinking for a bit, but then, she answered with a level of certainty in her voice that would make everyone believe everything she said.

„The Torch. And yes, I believe he does."

Luthor then grinned coldly, which caused Mercy to have a chill run down her spine.

„Good. I want you to offer him a summer internship at the Daily Planet here in Metropolis. Got it?"

Mercy knew better than to question her boss, although she already had an idea what this would be about. She nodded, opened her notebook and marked it down.

After she left the office, Luthor relaxed in his chair and smiled. With Kent in Metropolis, he would have a perfect weapon against everyone who'd dare to oppose him.

* * *

It was Thursday evening, and Clark and Sarah were currently curled up in the Fortress, with a heavy blanket over them, cuddling and having a Harry Potter movie marathon. Sarah, who is apparently a Potterhead, decided that she would correct everything that happened in the books differently, much to Clark's amusement.

At first, Sarah was a little surprised that Clark had a fully functioning living room in the fortress, but upon testing the couch, she decided she didn't care. Yes, the couch is that comfortable.

„I still don't get why Harry's parents look so old, bloody hell, they were 21 when they died!" she exclaimed, and Clark started laughing.

„Bloody hell? Since when is the word bloody in your vocabulary?" he asked, a trace of laugh could be still heard in his voice.

She untangled herself from him and punched him into his shoulder, he didn't even wince. At least she knows now why's he immune to her shoulder punches.

„Shut up," she mumbled and curled up into his chest again.

* * *

A few hours later, Clark scooped Sarah in his arms (who admittedly liked it) and took her home. Normally, he would be there within a few seconds, but since he had a very human (and very beautiful, but not that it mattered right now) passenger, he took some precautions, and decided to run slower than he normally would.

 _If I finally learned how to fly, damn it..._ he thought.

He found himself in front of the Wilsons' house sooner than he expected, maybe because he was lost in thought. Yeah, that would be probably it.

He gently laid Sarah down, although he knew she could do it herself, but he didn't care at the moment. A few seconds later, the front door opened and out came Sarah's aunt, Ria, who gently smiled at the sight of them.

Sarah looked down into Sarah's steely blue eyes which looked back at him with the same intensity and adoration. He smiled gently and slowly leaned down to give her a gentle kiss.

Every kiss they had felt the same to Clark – a surge of electricity ran through his entire body. Sarah's reaction was very similar in this area. She's always surprised at how soft Clark's lips are, and how gentle his kisses are. She enjoyed it nonetheless.

She's always marveled at how gentle his kisses were, and now she marvels even more. And yet, she knows the answer. He's afraid of hurting her, afraid of losing control. She can't even begin to imagine what it was like for him. To always hold back. To live in a constant fear of hurting somebody.

When they broke apart, Sarah's eyes were still closed. „See you tomorrow?" he asked gently, his deep voice as soothing as ever.

She hummed quietly, knowing they would have to break apart soon, but stalling it as much as she could.

After a few seconds, Sarah leaned away and gave him a peck on the cheek.

„See you tomorrow."

Clark gave her a smile and then started walking into the opposite direction to the Kent farm. When Sarah stopped staring at his ass, she turned around and made her way over to her house, not missing the look her aunt, who was standing right next to the door, gave her.

* * *

„Clark, a word, please?" asked Martha, who was currently in the living room with Jonathan.

Clark, who was currently in his bedroom, heard the sound of his mother's voice and came downstairs, where he leaned on the wall with his arms crossed.

„Yeah?"

His parents made their way over to the kitchen, where both of them sat and gestured for him to sit opposite them. Clark had a feeling that this won't be a conversation he's going to enjoy.

Hesitantly, he sat down and looked at his parents with a questioning look. Jonathan and Martha looked at each other, apparently having some kind of an eye conversation, which wasn't that surprising, given the fact that they know each other better than themselves. Finally, they looked at him.

„Clark, we know you've been dating Sarah a long time, and you've been spending a lot of time together these past few weeks, much more than before," started Martha carefully, at Clark's nod, she continued, „and we also know that both of you are teenagers, and that you're going to try new things."

Clark was still confused, and apparently, his parents saw it in his expression, because they Jonathan decided to elaborate further.

„Son, we did the same thing when we were your age. But, even though we know you are.." he couldn't find the right word, „special," he decided that this would be the most appropriate, „we still want you to use a condom."

If Clark had any water in his mouth, he was 100% sure he would start choking on it right at this moment. His eyes widened and he looked at his parents with a shocked expressions.

After a few seconds, he finally got his ability to talk again, yet his eyes were still widened.

„W-what?"

Both of his parents had a sympathetic expression on their faces.

„We know that—"

Clark cut his father off. „For God's sake, Pa. We haven't done anything! Yet... Are you really giving me the birds and bees talk?" he asked, surprised, yet both of his parents saw the amusement behind the inhumane orbs. Nonetheless, he continued.

„I've been spending a lot of time with Sarah because I finally told her the truth. About me. About my powers. About my heritage," he said. His parents looked at him with shocked expressions, and he knew he had to elaborate.

„Remember, about two weeks ago, when Killer Croc broke out of Belle Reve and came here for revenge or something?" He asked them, and when they nodded, he continued. „Well, I was supposed to have a dinner date with Sarah, where I decided I would tell her everything. I wanted to be honest with her," he said, his eyes getting a little bit misty.

His parents gave him an encouraging look. „Well, Croc came, Sarah was not here yet. He punched me once, twice, I didn't budge, didn't do anything, and he apparently smelled her coming or something, because he started saying something along the lines of that if he can't hurt me physically, he'll hurt me in other ways," his parents looked at him in even greater shock than before. They both knew he remembers the conversation word after word, and they both knew him well enough to know that he wished he didn't remember the conversation at all.

„And so.. I lost it.. a little. I punched him, not at full strength, of course, but hard enough for him to fly into the barn," he said, and Jonathan chuckled at that. Martha smacked him upside the head, and he just shrugged and grinned, „and Sarah saw it all. Well, almost all. So I took her in and told her everything. I was afraid. I was losing my shit," he had the decency to look sheepish after the scolding look Martha sent him.

„It was hard. Telling her everything. About Krypton. About its destruction. About Jor-El's and Lara's sacrifices. But she supported me, helped me go through it, and in that moment, I was 1 842% sure I am in love with her. Which I am. I feel whole for the first time in my life, and frankly, I have no idea why did I just tell you everything when you wanted to talk to me about sex," he finished lamely.

Both of his parents just laughed. All three of them stood up and hugged each other tightly, like a real family.

„Well, I guess she is a part of the family now," said Jonathan after they broke apart.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading this chapter. I have some big plans for Clark's summer (this chapter takes place approximately in the middle of May).**

 **By the way, I'm thinking about writing a Harry Potter story from the Marauders Era concentrating on James and Lily - probably just a one-shot, but I want to know if you would be interested? :)**


	21. Chapter 21 - Internship

**Hi, thank you for your reviews to the last chapter, I really appreciate it and I'm really glad you liked it. This chapter is a little bit of fluff, but not too much. I hope you'll like this chapter as well.**

 **Disclaimer, which I always forget, 'cause my memory sucks: I don't own Superman, only my OC's.**

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Chapter 21 - Internship

„Clark, honey, you got a mail!" yelled Martha from downstairs, where she was currently going through the mail.

Clark got up from his bed, where he was texting with Sarah, and slowly made his way down the stairs, where he already saw his mother giving him a big grin. He didn't even had to ask who the mail was from, she answered before he could even ask that.

„It's from the Daily Planet," she said with a beaming smile. He was pretty sure that if she were to grin any bigger, he'd get blind. Wait. Daily Planet?

„Daily Planet? Why?" he asked, confused. Martha shrugged, the smile still plastered on her face, and gave him the envelope. He checked it, and indeed, it was from the Daily Planet, Metropolis. Why would they send him a mail? He shrugged to himself, and began to gently open the envelope, as if not to damage it.

Inside were 2 papers, one of which was obviously a letter. Clark unwrapped the letter and began to read, his eyes growing wider with each word.

 _Dear Mr. Kent,_

 _we are happy to inform you that you have received a summer internship in the main office of Daily Planet in Metropolis. We've read some of your work for your school newspaper, The Torch, and decided that you are suitable for this position._

 _You'll get a salary, and if you wish, a housing, as well. You'll find all the necessary information on the second paper we've enclosed along with this letter._

 _Sincerely,_

 _The Editor-In-Chief,_

 _Perry White._

He couldn't believe it. He got an internship. A summer internship. In the Daily Planet itself. And not just the Daily Planet. The main office of Daily Planet.

„Oh my god," he whispered, eyes still wide. His parents looked at him with concern, but he just smiled and handed them the letter.

After they read it, their eyes were widened as well, but they were also wearing proud smiles on their faces. His father then gave him a big hug, saying, „Congratulations, son. We're proud of you."

Clark patted him on the back and grinned as well. This is going to be a good day.

* * *

„So, this internship, it's for the whole summer, yeah?" Sarah asked him carefully, though even she couldn't hide that proud grin that rested on her face.

They were currently lying in her bed, with her cuddled into his side, and looking at him right in the eyes.

Clark shrugged, as much as he could in this position, „Yeah, pretty much. They even offered me housing, though I don't think that'll be necessary."

Sarah gave him a confused glance, but after giving her a pointed look, the realization dawned on her, in Clark's opinion, beautiful face. Even more beautiful without the little bit of make-up you could usually see on her face.

„So, after you're finished with your ‚shift,' you're going to _run_ back to Smallville? How long will that take you?" she asked, her eyes full of amusement.

„About a minute, but yeah, I mean, not right away after I finish with the shift, as you called it. I want to look around Metropolis, you know? To get the familiar feeling, and, uh, try not to get lost," Sarah chuckled at this, and gave him a quick kiss.

„Yeah, I know what you mean. I did pretty much the same thing here in Smallville, after I moved here," she chuckled. Clark could see that she was very happy for him, but he could also see that little bit of doubt.

„Hey," he said gently, after she buried her face into his chest, „it's alright. We'll see each other every day. I promise I'll come by your..," Clark started thinking something funny, something to make her laugh, and she finally looked at him when he stopped talking, „uh, window? Yeah, your window, every single night. We'll be like Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy. You know, from the movie. What do you say?" Her smile grew wider with each word he said, and now, she was positively beaming at him, and he loved it.

She didn't give him a verbal answer. Oh, no. She launched at him and proceeded to kiss him with such intensity, that even with his Kryptonian brain, he couldn't think properly. Luckily, he came to his senses a few seconds later, and one of his hands found her back, while the other somehow found the way into her hair.

She deepened the kiss, and he surely wasn't about to complain.

Sarah couldn't think much, either. After his words, she got the urge to kiss him, and since she's his girlfriend, she did exactly that. And oh, boy, what a kiss it turned out to be. She was pretty sure that they've never had a kiss that intense and that deep before. It felt as if adrenaline replaced the blood in her veins, and butterflies exploded in her stomach. It felt good. Very good.

She broke the kiss, apparently for the need of air. He had no idea how long they've been making out, but her hair was messy and her clothes were a bit disheveled.

He didn't look much better, to be fair. They looked into each other's eyes, inhumane blue meeting steely ocean, both full of adoration, love, and a little bit of lust. A gentle clear of the throat pulled them from their own world, and they both turned around to look at Sarah's uncle Frank, who had a knowing smile on his face. Both Sarah and Clark started blushing, though Clark's blush was much more intense than hers.

„Sorry to interrupt, lovebirds, but Ria send me to ask you, Clark, if you'd like to stay for dinner?" he asked, the knowing smile still plastered on his face.

Clark cleared his throat, too, „If that wouldn't be much trouble, Mr. Wilson. Do you need any help?"

Frank shook his head, his steely-blue eyes, the exact same shade as Sarah, full of amusement. „Nope, thanks for the offer, though. And it's Frank, Clark, how many times have I told you that?" he asked with a mock sigh, causing Sarah to snort, „We'll call you when the dinner is ready," he said, and with a last look and a wink, he left the room.

Clark, horrified, looked at Sarah, her eyes full of amusement, obviously trying very hard not to laugh. Clark recovered his bearings fast, and he may or may not have used some of his speed, started tickling Sarah very gently in her ribs, because he knew that's where she was ticklish the most.

She burst out laughing, panting, „S-Stop, Cl-Clark," but he would have none of it. He continued to tickle her, and now, they were both laughing.

Downstairs, Frank and Arianna Wilson heard the laugh of their niece, and both shared a knowing look and a smile. Clark was good for her.

* * *

After dinner, Clark, of course, the gentle and well-manered farm-boy that he is, helped Ria with the dishes. Afterwards, after they said their goodbyes, Sarah walked Clark down the porch. She took her hands into his, and stared into his gentle yes, which looked at her with so much adoration and love she found hard to comprehend.

 _Okay, Wilson. You have to get a pair and tell him. Those three little words. That's all you need. Just those three words._

She opened her mouth, but no words came. She felt as if the words were stuck in her throat. Sarah was pretty sure that she looked like a goldfish, and based on the amusement in Clark's eyes and the gentle smile, she was pretty sure that she was right. Instead of saying anything, she just hugged him tightly, and buried her face into her chest.

„See you tomorrow at school?" he asked her quietly with his deep voice, and she could feel the vibration of his voice in his chest, and she smiled. Clark, of course, felt the smile on his chest. He gently kissed her hair, and if his lips stayed there for a little longer, no one said anything.

Sarah closed her eyes and sighed a happy sigh, and slowly released him.

„See you tomorrow."

* * *

„Clark, check this out!" said Pete Ross, as he made his way over to Clark in the busy hallway of Smallville High. Clark turned around and looked at him with confusion written across his face, but nonetheless smiled at Pete.

„Hey, Pete. What is it I should be checking out?" he asked, and Pete pulled out his phone and showed him an article from the Daily Planet website.

 _METAHUMANS STARTING SUPERHERO TEAM CALLED JUSTICE LEAGUE  
Written by: Lois Lane_

That got Clark's attention, and he gestured to Pete to elaborate. Pete's answer was to show him the full article. „You're mentioned there."

 _Metahumans. People with extraordinary abilities, some more powerful than the others. Some use their abilities for good, while some use their abilities for their own, personal, gain. And this is the exact reason that the ‚good metahumans,' or superheroes, if you will, decided to band together and create a team of heroes willing to do anything to protect us._

 _While it, of course, is dangerous, we cannot forget that some of the most powerful known metahumans are willing to do anything for money – take Killer Croc, for example, a metahuman with crocodilian abilities, was willing to_ _murder_ _a 17-year-old high-school student from a small town in Kansas._

 _There's also been a case where the ‚bad metahumans,' also known as supervillains, team up against the police or other superhero, and let's be honest, in that case, almost no superhero stands a chance._

 _And that's where the Justice League comes in. The Justice League is (or will be) a team of the world's greatest and most powerful heroes, who are willing to do anything to save human life. According to Arthur Curry/Aquaman, the spokesman of the League and the king of the nation known as Atlantis,, „the League will also help in cases of natural disasters and catastrophes, in every part of the world. We're not here just to fight our own kind. We are here to help. And that's exactly what we're going to do."_

 _The team currently consists of the heroes known by the name of The Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Zatanna and Cyborg._

 _I, for one, believe that the League deserves a chance._

After Clark finished with the article, he was grinning like mad. A team of superheroes. A team of people willing to do anything to protect humans, even though they don't have to.

„That's amazing," he said, and Pete nodded. Pete, like Clark, also shared the opinion that metahumans deserve a chance, and that it's purely their choice if they choose to be good, bad or if they choose to keep this side of them a secret.

 _What do you know, one day, I'll maybe even join them,_ thought Clark with a smile. This is going to be a good day.

* * *

 **So, yeah. I decided to start the Justice League without its core member, and I know some of you'll maybe hate me for it (:D), but this is my take on it, and I decided that Clark will become Superman after the League (and other superheroes) is created and established.**

 **This version of Superman will be inexperienced, and very young, and very, very powerful. He'll need guiding, and that's exactly what the League here is for.**

 **The next chapter will be something similar to this one, and in the chapter after that (probably), the internship begins.**

 **And yeah, I put Lois Lane in there, already working for the planet, which means that she is older than Clark by a few years, though not much.**

 **Thanks for reading, see you next time :)**


	22. Chapter 22 - Guess Who?

**Hi. Thank you for all the reviews on my latest chapter, I really appreciate it. Wow, it seems that I've outdone myself on this chapter, as it seems, because it looks like it's the longest chapter yet. Yay. Sorry if this one is a bit boring, but I promise, the next one will be much more entertaining (I hope). Why? Because Clark will be starting his internship in the Daily Planet! Yay!**

 **Anyway, enjoy this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Clark Kent, Superman, Justice League or any of the DC property. Otherwise I would be a very happy (and a very rich) man.**

* * *

Chapter 22 - Guess Who?

It was the beginning of June, and Mrs. Evans, the History teacher of Smallville High, has decided that she would finish this school year by giving her junior students the hardest test she's ever given them. Granted, almost nobody liked Mrs. Evans, except for students with a certain knack for the said subject. One of those students, of course, being Clark Kent.

The 17-year-old Kryptonian finished the test 15 minutes ago, and he was currently doodling random symbols into his words, while thinking about the test he's already finished. Of course, the test wasn't probably the easiest one they've had, but because of Clark's eidetic memory, he's never had problems with subjects such as these – subjects where you needed to memorize the facts.

And really, Greek Mythology? He's read all of the Percy Jackson books, even though one might say it's basically just a Greek Mythology fanfiction.

He didn't even realize this, but now, when he broke out of his little world inside of his own head, he noticed that almost the whole page of his notebook has been covered by Kryptonian symbols, including the symbol of the House of El. The symbol of Hope.

The other symbols included the symbol for resurrection, which is basically the symbol of Hope upside down, and even some words written in Kryptonese. Clark's made it his personal mission to learn Kryptonese, as well as any other languages he believed he'd find the use for. Among those languages was for example Russian, German, Portugese, Japanese and Italian. It would usually take him about three to four hours to fully learn a new language. Without the super-speed, that is.

He's been broken out of his thoughts once again when a little ball of paper landed right in front of him. You didn't have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out that the little ball of paper was actually a note from one of his classmates.

Gently, Clark took the little ball in front of him and unwrapped it, revealing the text written on it.

 _I kno u got the intenship with the DP, and since u won't be here the whole summer, what about a little (sleepover) party at my place? Whitney and Jack said they'd come._

 _-Pete_

Clark resisted the urge to be a smartass and correct the spelling mistakes Pete's made while writing this, and thought about the idea of having a sort-of-a-good-bye-party-or-something. Actually, that didn't sound so bad. God knows it's true that he hadn't been spending a lot of time with Whitney or Pete. Or even Jack, for what matter.

Jack Carpenter is one of the brightest students of Smallville High, and since he is nowhere near as big or intimidating as Clark (ha-ha-ha, so he's heard), he got bullied a lot, especially by Whitney. Clark, of course, stepped in and since he's a goofball, he decided that he would try and make the two of them friends.

It worked out, and now, Whitney and Jack are basically bros, much to Clark's amusement. And Lana's, too. Oh, Lana. He missed her. And don't get him started on Pete or Chloe. He barely spent time with them in school, let alone outside of it. He's just been so busy these past few days.. weeks.. months, and between balancing his studies (not that he needed to study), helping out on the farm, spending time with Sarah, training to control his powers better and still trying to create the „supersuit," as Sarah called it. She hasn't even seen the suit yet.

 _Kent, you sure you ain't ADHD? Back to the matter at hand,_ thought Clark as he slapped himself mentally.

Gently tearing a piece of paper from his notebook, he scribbled down the answer and looked around the class, looking for Pete.

Pete, unfortunately, was sitting right in front of Mrs. Evans. Even with his superpowers, Clark was about 99% sure that he wouldn't be able to send the note to Clark wihout Mrs. Evans' notice. And subsequently, getting detention in the process, as Mrs. Evans is not keen on anyone disrupting her class, even if the student in question is one of her favorites.

Clark had to aim precisely, to it would land right in front of Pete, and not in front of Mrs. Evans, or he would be doomed. Yeah, talk about invulnerability and being brave and most powerful being in the world all you want. Clark had respect for his teachers. And yeah, he didn't want detention. He'd be bored to death.

So, aiming at Pete, calculating the amount of strength, angle, and momentum he'd have to put into this, he gently threw the little piece of paper and prayed to every single god in every single mythology that the note would end up in Pete's hands, and not in the hands of Mrs. Evans.

The gods must have granted him this favor, Clark thought, as the little note landed right in front of Pete, exactly where he calculated. Pete, noticing something landed on his desk, picked up the paper and read it. Even though Clark couldn't see him, he could imagine the shit eating grin he is almost sure is adorning his face right now.

* * *

Sarah hated P.E. No, she loved it, actually. But she hated it right now for a simple seat of reasons.

One, she had to change her clothes in front of other girls, meaning they would see the scars she received when she was younger from the broken bottles of beer. She wasn't proud of them. She hated them.

And since their teacher was currently in the hospital because of some operation, they will be having the P.E. with the boys, which brings her to number two and three.

Two, a lot of the boys were checking her out. Now, normally, she would be flattered, but there were some cat-calls, especially from the school jock named.. what was his name again? Aaron? Aiden? Whatever. And even from the other end of the gymnasium, she could still see the anger in Clark's eyes, as well as the stiffness in his body.

Of course, Clark knows she can take care of herself, or else she was certain that Aar-Aide-Whatever wouldn't be having these perverted remarks any time soon.

Which brings her to reason number three on why she hates P.E. right now. Clark Kent. Don't get her wrong. She loves him. And he probably loves her, too. But for God's sake, he is just so distracting. With his tight SEE-THROUGH white t-shirt, he definitely is something to look at. You can basically see the pecks and the abs. And oh, God, those arms. Don't let her get started on the ar-

She was pulled out of her thoughts rather forcefully, as a ball landed right on the side of her head, almost knocking her to the ground. Thanks to Sarah's quick reflexes, she was able to plant her feet to the ground more firmly and tense her legs muscles, which resulted in her NOT falling.

She turned around and glared daggers at the person who hit her, and the girl really seemed apologetic. And slightly scared.

„Oh, Sarah, I'm so, so sorry, it was an accident, I swear," she blabbered, the words coming out of her mouth extremely fast.

Sarah just shooked her head and gave her an amused smile, patting the girl on the shoulder.

„That's alright, shit happens," answered Sarah off-handedly, amusement creeping its way into her voice. At least, this gave her a chance to stop being distracted by looking over at Clark.

„ALRIGHT, LADIES," yelled the gym teacher, Mr. Hannigan, with his booming voice, making Clark, to Sarah's surprise, wince. „IT'S TIME FOR DODGEBALL. You know the rules," he said now in a quieter voice, „don't get injured or killed, as it's too much paperwork, and have fun. Split into teams."

Sarah looked at Clark, inhumane eyes met silvery blue, and they shared a knowing smile. She made her way over to him. „Hey, Kent. Ready to kick some ass?"

* * *

„It looks magneficent, Toyman," said Lex Luthor as he watched the not-so-finished machine in front of him.

Toyman, though wearing a mask, looked very pleased with himself. He seemed to get ready to say something, but Luthor beat him to it.

„When's it going to be ready?" he asked calmly, though if you looked closely, you could see something dark in his eyes.

Toyman gulped, and answered, „I'll have it ready for you within 30 days."

Luthor smiled and pulled out his phone. He punched the number and within seconds, he heard the voice of his trusted assistant on the other side of the phone. „Yes, Mr. Luthor?"

„When does the Kent's internship start?" he asked.

Mercy Graves answered without missing a beat. „June 18th, sir."

„Very well. Thank you, Mercy," said Luthor, not giving a chance to her to say anything else, for he has already hung up.

„I want it ready by the end of June. Got it?" he asked, and something in the tone of his voice made Toyman uneasy.

„Y-Yes, Mr. Luthor," answered Toyman.

* * *

Clark made his way over to his locker, and was not at all surprised to see the faces of his three friends – Pete, Whitney and Jack. In fact, he saw them the moment he stepped outside the Biology classroom, as this was one of the few classes the four boys did not share together.

„Hey, guys. What's up?" he asked casually while opening his locker and pulling his books in.

„Hey, Clark. We've decided that the party.. or game night.. or whatever you want to call it, will be at my place this Friday, alright?" said Pete, though the last sentence came out as more of a statement than a question.

Clark just shrugged ,while saying, „Sure, why not?" with a smile.

„Alright. See ya," said Pete, as the bell rang. Seriously, the breaks between the periods seemed to be getting shorter and shorter.

He didn't even have the time to put some of the books into his backpack, because right then, a pair of small hands covered his eyes gently, taking his glasses away, and the familiar scent of lemons and some unidentified perfume made his way into his nostrils.

„Guess who?" said a gentle voice, with pure happiness in its tone.

Clark's face broke into a grin, and he slowly turned around and opened his eyes. Right then and there, an angel was beaming at him with the most beautiful smile he has ever seen. Light brown hair, silvery blue eyes, and full, beautiful lips. Sarah.

„Well, hello, there," he whispered gently, his face inches away from hers. He had to lean down, as he was basically a whole foot taller than her. It was a sight to behold.

„Hi," she said breathlessly, lost in those beautiful, alien eyes once again. They were just so incredibly blue, so intense, she was sure that she could look into those eyes for hours and not get tired of it. „I noticed your wince in P.E. when the teacher yelled. Care to explain?" she asked gently, quietly, both of them lost in each other's eyes.

Clark rolled his eyes good-naturedly and gave out a weak chuckle. „Nothing to worry about," he said. Sarah gave him a look. _Okay, apparently something to worry about,_ thought Clark dryly, yet with an affectionate smile. He leaned down even more, his mouth very, very close to her ear. Sarah could feel her breath on it, which made her involuntary shiver. Oh, the effects this boy had on her.

„You know how I have these super-senses, right?" he asked, and she nodded breathlessly, while he continued. „I can mostly control it now, but there are times when I just lose focus and hear everything at once. Or magnified, in this case."

Clark gently pulled her face away from hers, and he saw the look of realization dawn into those beautiful orbs of hers.

„Oh."

Clark chuckled and put his hand on her shoulder, bringing her closer to him. She had no complaints, and gladly snuggled into his chest.

„Shouldn't you be in class right about now?" he asked, and she could feel the rumble in his chest as he said those words.

„Nope. Free period, then English. What about you?" she answered.

„Same," he said. Sarah looked at him with the expression Clark knew too well. She was about to tease him.

„Oh? I wasn't aware we shared the same English class," and oh, there it is. Clark laughed and brought her even closer to her, kissing the top of her head. Yeah, she liked that. Strong, independent Sarah Wilson loved it when her boyfriend pulled her close and kissed the top of her her. So sue her.

„Smartass," he mumbled against her hair, and she punched his shoulder, only slightly wincing in pain.

 _Forgot he is invulnerable for a second,_ she thought.

„You okay?" he asked her, concern creeping into his voice. She rolled her eyes at him good-naturedly, while simeltaneously stooding up on her toes and giving him a gentle peck on the lips. Or nose. Yeah, she missed.

„We're having a gaming night at Pete's on Friday, wanna come? I know how much you love Call of Duty. And I'm pretty sure you would be able to kick all of our asses," he asked, while she chuckled. That was true. She would be able to do that.

„Nah. You should enjoy being with your friends for once, I know you haven't had a lot of time these past few weeks.. or months, for that matter. You should spend more time with your friends. Got it, punk?"

A hint of amusement crinkled in Clark's eyes, making the inhumane orbs slightly sparkling.

„Punk?" he asked, the amusement now in his voice, too.

"Yeah, punk. I've been watching a lot of movies," she said.

"Whatever," he said, leaning down and capturing his lips with hers.

Yeah, he liked that a lot.

* * *

"Hey, Sarah, just wanted to tell you that I won't be able to make the lesson today, Whitney and I are going on a date," said Lana breathlessly as she run down the hallway to catch up with Sarah not too long after her parting with Clark. Apparently, the janitor did not like PDA.

Sarah turned around, and smiled. "That's alright, Lana. Go on and enjoy your date," she said, and Lana beamed at her and hugged her.

"Thanks. How about tomorrow?" she asked, and Sarah had to think about what day was it today.

 _Got it. Wednesday,_ she thought.

"Alright. But we'll be training twice as hard. Got it, Red?" she said, using the nickname she came up with a few lessons into their training.

"Sure. Alright, gotta go. Chemistry. See ya around," she said as she started running the opposite directions, her crimson curls bouncing with each step.

"See ya around, eh?" she mumbled, a small smile gracing her lips.

* * *

Thursday and Friday went much faster than anyone, and by anyone, I mean Clark, had anticipated and now, the Kryptonian in question found himself in front of the Ross' house, his mom's apple pie in hand. He gently knocked on the door, and not even 10 seconds later, a woman, who he recognized as Pete's mom, opened the door and beamed at him.

He hasn't seen Abigail Ross in a really long time, and the moment she recognized him, she pulled him into a tight hug. Mrs. Ross was like a second mother to him, and he loved her as such.

"Clark, oh my god, it's been ages!" she exclaimed, and he chuckled.

"It's been 2 months, Mrs. Ross," Clark answered. She immediately started telling him to stop calling her Mrs. Ross, as she did every single time he came over, and ushered him inside, taking Martha's famous apple pie with her.

Abigail Ross, in all standards, was a beautiful woman. In her early forties, with her thick, ebony hair, slightly dark skin and golden eyes.

"Are the guys already here?" asked Clark, after he answered every single one of her question – a lot of those questions were focused on his girlfriend, he noticed. Not that he minded talking about her. He could talk about her for hours. The way she wrinkled her nose when she was about to laugh, the way her eyes shone with utter love and adoration every time she saw him, and much, much more.

"Yeah, they're upstairs. I won't disturb you, Pete's already told me about the internship. Congratulations, by the way. I've read some of the work for the Torch, my son buys it weekly. You've got a lot of talent, Clark," she complimented him, and of course, he blushed.

He quickly thanked her and made his way upstairs. He opened the door and was not at all surprised by the mess in his friend's room. And by the three teenagers in the middle of it, eating pizza and, apparently, waiting for him, for they haven't started playing any game yet.

"Gee, guys, thanks for waiting for me, really appreciated," said Clark sarcastically with a smile.

Pete was on his bed, eating a pizza and retweeting everything related to the Justice League, the first superhero team, or as the internet decided to call them, "Earth's Mightiest Heroes," though Clark thought the title was already taken.

Jack looked at him and welcomed him with a smile, though not before putting the rest of his pizza slice into his mouth.

Yeah, this evening would be fun.

* * *

 **Ah, thanks for reading this one :) See ya around. Hehe.**


	23. Chapter 23 - Up, Up

**Hi. So, I'm here with yet another chapter, and I enjoyed writing this one very much, so I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman or anything related to it, except for my OC(s), who is a badass on her own.**

* * *

Chapter 23 - Up, Up...

„Clark, what are you doing?"

Clark's concentration was broken by none other than his girlfriend, who came to the Kent Farm to say goodbye to the Kryptonian in question, as he is leaving today to Metropolis to start his internship with the Metropolitan newspaper, the Daily Planet.

Clark sighed and turned around, where the, in his eyes, georgeous petite woman was currently looking at him with the expression of expectation, as if waiting for an explanation. Well, explanation is probably what she is currently aiming for.

„Hey, beautiful," Clark smiled gently at her as she came closer to him, enveloping him in a hug. She looked up at him, teasing expression adorning her face.

„Beautiful, Clark? Really? This is the best you could think of?" she teased, and Clark didn't even suppress the urge to smile.

„Just roll with it. You are beautiful," he answered as he leaned down and captured his lips in hers. Sarah immediately deepened the kiss. It always felt the same for her. The tingle in her stomach that she gets each and every time she sees him, suddenly erupts and creates a tornado of butterflies and fireworks exploding all at once.

After she broke the kiss for the lack of air, she looked at him with the expectant expression on her face.

„Now, I know you can hold your breath for hours, _handsome,_ " she said pointedly, „but care to explain what were you doing here before I came?"

Clark just shrugged, broke the hug and turned around, looking at the vast cornfields of Smallville.

„I've been trying to learn how to fly for months. I know my body is mature enough, and I know I've developed this power already. I can feel it. I just.. I can't," he looked at her and took off his glasses, releasing the beautiful blue eyes Sarah loves, „I don't know why."

He looked so sad about it, even though it's nothing to worry about. She could see it's important to him, though, and she decided she would do something about it. Now.

„Alright, Clark. I'm gonna help you," she said, her voice laced with determination and a little bit of excitement.

She smiled gently at Clark's confused expression and put her hand on his cheek. „It's important to you. And if it's important to you, then it's important to me. Now, do as I say."

Clark looked dumbfounded, but nodded anyway. She stepped away from him and started with instructions.

„Now, I need you to focus, Clark. Focus on my voice. Focus on the ground," as Sarah was speaking, Clark gently lowered himself to the ground, one knee was right in his chest, while the other was on the gorund, „I need you to focus on the air, on the sunlight pulsing through your veins. I need you to focus on what you want to do," she spoke gently while Clark put his fists on the ground.

She could see he was concentrating very hard.

„That's good, Clark. Focus. Imagine yourself flying with the birds. Imagine yourself hovering in the air. Imagine yourself flying across the sky, reaching beyond the sky."

At this, the dirt on the ground started hovering, and Sarah would be lying if she said she wasn't surprised.

„Y-you might n-need to step back.. a-a little bit," grunted Clark, and Sarah, who knew better, immediately backed away from him. Not even three seconds later, she heard the ground cracking and saw something unbelievable.

With a mighty crack, Clark took off into the sky, leaving a surprised Sarah, a cracked ground (even with the grass and dirt on it), and lastly, a sonic boom.

It's one thing to say that your boyfriend is able to fly, and it's completely another thing seeing it. Now, she couldn't see him exactly, since he was probably miles above her, but the sonic booms echoing around the entire town was as good as hint as any.

Sarah waited patiently, knowing that he was most likely enjoying his power. And she was right.

Clark soared through the sky, feeling free and happy. The feeling was excrutiating, the air bending around him as he cut his way across, leaving sonic booms behind him. It's a feeling unlike any other he's ever felt before. He's not sure if Kryptonians had adrenaline in their bodies, but if they did, that's exactly how Clark thinks it would feel.

He was now reaching the outer orbit, as he didn't realize that he was flying higher and higher. When he looked around and saw the Sun in the distance, facing the Earth, the white orb that gives him and every single being on Earth life, he felt content. As his body absorbed the unfiltered sunlight, he felt more powerful than ever before, which is saying a lot.

Realizing he's been there for much longer than he intended to, he quickly made his way back to the Kant Farm in Smallville, Kansas, where his girlfiend and parents are waiting for him.

Sarah heard a sonic boom and immediately knew that her boyfriend was coming back. After a few seconds, she felt the air around her bristle and the presence of another being behind her. Smiling softly to herself, she turned around and faced the Kryptonian, whose face would surely hurt from smiling this broadly if he weren't invulnerable.

He gently lowered himself into the ground and hugged her tightly to him, though not too tight, as he had a suspicion that he may have supercharged his cells a little bit. He gently kissed the top of her head and if Sarah didn't see, she thought it would be impossible, but his grin even widened.

„ _Everytime we touch, I get this feeling, and everytime we kiss, I swear I could fly,_ " he sung, and Sarah punched his shoulder.

„Really, Kent? Ruining this perfect moment by singing Cascada? And how in the world do you know the lyrics?" asked Sarah, her tone teasing and eyes smiling.

Clark shrugged, a hint of mischief in his eyes. „That's for me to know and for you to find out."

Sarah rolled her eyes at his response, even though she was smiling. She put her hand behind his head, tangled his raven locks in it, and pulling him down for a kiss.

„I think your parents are waiting for us," she said after they broke apart.

* * *

And true to her word, the Kents were waiting for Clark on the front porch. Or, at least, one of the Kents, as Martha was currently in the house, for reasons unknown. It was currently 9:30AM, and Clark was supposed to be at the Planet in 9:45 sharp.

„Clark, uh..," said Jonathan, a confused expression on his face, „I think you need a change of clothes."

At this, the front door of the house opened and out stepped Martha Kent herself, clad in her usual attire of old jeans, white t-shirt and a cardigan.

„Why would he need a change of—OH," she stopped mid-sentence, for she looked at Clark and knew what her husband meant.

Clark's clothes, a white t-shirt and jeans, were ripped in many places, and were those burnmarks?

„Clark Joseph Kent, what in the world have you done with your clothes?" Martha asked, surprise clear in her voice.

At this, Sarah burst out laughing, soon followed by Clark, Jonathan, and in the end, Martha, even though Jonathan and Martha had no idea what they were laughing about.

„Mr. and Mrs. Kent, I would like to introduce you to my boyfriend, and your son, Clark Kent, a Kryptonian who _mastered the ability to fly_."

Jonathan's eyes, just like Sarah's, Martha's and Clark's smiles, widened. „You finally learned how to fly?"

Clark shrugged and looked at Sarah, who had a smug expression on her face, though if you looked into her eyes, you would see that she was genuinely happy for Clark, and the smug expression was just teasing. Clark put his arms around Sarah's shoulders and brought her to him, who blushed, seeing that Clark's t-shirt was ripped in many places, including the area of his abdomen, revealing the 8-pack he had underneath. She still couldn't understand how she didn't notice it before.

Oh, yeah, she could. She was too preoccupied looking dreamily at his broad smile.

Clark then super-sped into the house, and a few seconds later, he came back, dressed in another jeans, black AC/DC t-shirt, and a brown leather jacket, given to him by his father about 2 years ago for his 15th birthday (the jacket used to be too big on him, but now, standing at 6'5", the jacket fit him perfectly).

After saying their goodbyes, which consisted of many hugs, kisses on the cheeks (from his mother), normal kisses (from Sarah), and a promise to call and come to visit as soon as he could, Clark started running in the direction of Metropolis, where a new chapter of his life awaits.

* * *

James Olsen, called Jimmy by friends, the star-photographer of the Daily Planet and sometimes-an-assistant-to-Lois-Lane-and-Perry-White was currently sitting on his desk and editing the newest pictures, when the elevator doors opened and out came an extremely tall and muscular man, wearing glasses and an AC/DC t-shirt with a leather jacket.

Jimmy couldn't help but look at the man, who had nothing to do here, for this is the floor reserved only for the employees of the Daily Planet. Quickly, he stood up from his desk-chair and made his way over to him. The guy looked a little bit lost, and hey, he did have a few questions for him. You learn that stuff when you work alongside Lois Lane for 2 years.

He approached the man, who was still wearing that confused look, and decided to introduce himself first.

„Hi, my name's James Olsen. Who are you and why are you here?" he asked, and yeah, it may sounded a little bit harsh and suspicious, but it seemed to have worked, for the man has finally broken out of his confused daze and looked at Jimmy.

And yeah, Jimmy would be lying if he said that the man didn't look intimidating, with jet-black hair, piercing blue eyes, which seemed a bit dimmed by the glasses, and what Jimmy guess was at least 225 pounds of solid muscle.

The man didn't look that much intimidating for long, because right then, he smiled at Jimmy warmly, and Jimmy couldn't help but get the feeling that he could trust this man.

„Hi, my name's, uh, Clark Kent, and I'm the new intern here? Could you please show me to the Editor-In-Chief's office?" he asked politely.

Jimmy's eyes widened and he literally facepalmed. „Oh, right, the new intern. I'm sorry, I totally forgot. Yeah, yeah. The Editor's office is that way, just follow the sound of utter depression, yelling and Elvis," he even pointed his finger at the direction where the Editor's office was.

The man, Clark, chuckled, thanked him and quickly made his way over to the direction of the Editor's office.

„The intern, huh," Jimmy mumbled, and decided to sit back in his chair and continue with the editing of his pictures.

* * *

Perry White, who didn't like his last name very much, and also, coincidentally, didn't like the newest assistant, for his old one, Sally, was on paternity leave, was trying very hard not to call her and insist that she come back. Seriously, why is it so hard to find good employees in this century? The last good hire he's made was the Olsen kid with the knack for photography.

He was broken out of his thoughts by a gentle knock on the door. „Come in," he said, and not even a second later, the door opened and in came an extremely tall man, wearing brown leather jacket, and a t-shirt of, based on the font, some metal band.

„And you are?" asked Perry.

The man smiled. „Hi, my name's Clark Kent, and I'm the new intern here? I was said to come into your office first thing in the morning," he said, and Perry's eyes dawned with realization.

Of course, the Kent kid. Based on the work he's read, and the fact that the kid was from some Nowheresville in Kansas, he exptected something.. different. A short, stocky kid with acne, for example, but not this.

 _Well,_ Perry thought, _my expectations have been raised._

Perry slowly stood up and reached out his hand for a handshake, which the kid immediately took. Perry winced. The Kent kid had a really strong grip.

„Alright, Kent. Sit down," after he sat down, Perry continued, „I've read some of your work. And I've gotta say, it's good. You have potential. A lot of potential. But if you want to be an investigative reporter someday, you'll have to have more than that. You'll have to be brave, daring, stubborn, and most importantly, you'll have to want to share the truth to the world."

Perry didn't miss the sudden flick of.. nervousness? Or was it fear? in the boy's eyes, but he decided to ignore it. For now.

„Yes, sir."

Perry smiled. He liked the kid already. He didn't call him chief. Let's hope Olsen won't corrupt him. Much.

„Alright, Kent. Now, as mentioned in the letter the Planet has sent you, we can offer you housing, or, if you have somewhere to live, you can live there. I don't care as long as you come here at 8AM and leave at 5PM. Got it?"

Kent smiled and nodded.

 _Good,_ thought Clark, _I can just run/fly home every night. It's not like it's far from Metropolis.. that much._

„Good. You'll do the basic things. Copy, edit grammar errors – don't give me that look, Kent, I've seen your work, and I know no one edited it for you, so don't shit with me. Now, back to the topic at hand, you'll also help any reporter with anything they need, be it paperwork or research, though don't help much with the paperwork, especially Lane, she won't be afraid to manipulate you.

As for the research, you'll know what to do. I hope."

Clark nodded, and Perry noticed that the kid wasn't writing anything down. Either the kid had an amazing memory or he'd be pretty much screwed. Perry stood up, followed by Kent, and shook his hand.

„Oh, and by the way, the t-shirt and jeans won't cut it. This is a professional newspaper, for the love of Elvis! And since you're going to move around here a lot, wear some comfy shoes, too, since I'm pretty sure that Lois is going to give you one hell of a cardio with her coffee obsession. Welcome to the planet, Kent."

* * *

 **Alright, thank you very much for reading this chapter, please write a review with your opinion, I'd really appreciate it.**

 **By the way, we've reached 50 000 words in this story, which, I gotta say, it's awesome!:)**

 **'Till next time, sweethearts :* :D**


	24. Chapter 24 - The Beginning

**Hi. Since I'm sick (again), I decided to use some of me free time and cook up a new chapter of my story. I hope you'll like it. Lots of action will be seen in the next chapter. This is just the beginning.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman, Justice League, or any of that stuff. What a shame.**

* * *

Chapter 24 - The Beginning

„Kent, get your ass in here!" yelled Lois Lane, the Pulitzer Prize winning star-reporter of the Daily Planet, at the newest addition to the staff of said metropolitan newspaper.

„Coming, Ms. Lane, just a sec!" yelled Clark right back, while balancing about fifty pounds of reports, accounts, registrations, and things similar to that in one hand, while in the other, he was carrying a cup of fresh coffee for Lois, who, without it, be grumpy otherwise. And nobody wants to see a grumpy Lois Lane.

Hey, even if you have the strength to lift a skyscraper like a feather, balancing a shit-ton of paper isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world, especially with one hand at that.

Slowly, he approached her work-desk, and gently put the mug, which read _BEST REPORTER IN THE WORLD_ , on her desk while gently trying to lower the papers without them falling on the ground.

Lois just rolled her eyes and helped him with the papers, though a small smark found its way on her face.

„Jeez, Clark, be careful," she scolded him, the teasing smile still on her face. „And call me Lois. Ms. Lane makes me sound.. old."

Lois Lane was an (extremely) attractive woman in her mid-twenties, with her slightly-longer-than-shoulder-length raven hair and mesmerizing, purple eyes, but she managed to look intimidating nonetheless, even though she was pretty small. She compensates her lack of height with her heels, however.

Clark's been working for the Daily Planet, or ‚interning,' or whatever, for almost a week. Five days, to be exact. And so far, he has nothing to complain about. Most of the people are friendly here. Lois was acting coldly towards him for the first three days, but she warmed up to him, anyway. The only person Clark didn't particularly like was Steve Lombard, who worked in the Sports department. He was a bully, even at his age. And Clark didn't like bullies.

„Sorry, Ms—Lois," Clark mumbled.

She just chuckled and waved her hand, dismissing his apology.

„Tell me, Clark, what do you think about Lex Luthor?" she asked him, trying to sound nonchalant, and had Clark been an ordinary person, he wouldn't have picked up on the edge in her voice. She must've hated Luthor. A lot.

„I, uh, met him once, in Smallville. His factory was caught on fire," he said, trying to sound nonchalant as well.

Lois' eyes widened at that a little bit, and she leaned on hands, which were currently on her desk.

„Yeah, I remember that story. Some teenager saved his life, apparently," she said, while pointedly looking at him. Clark could feel his cheeks warming up, and he turned around, trying to hide it. No such luck, though.

„Come on, Clark."

Clark sighed and turned around, coming face-to-face with Lois, who was wearing a smug expression on her face. Well, not much face-to-face, for even with her heels, she was still like.. at least half a head shorter than Clark.

She gestured for him to sit down, and so he did.

„Now, spill. I wanted that story, but I had bigger fish to catch," she said, excitement shining in her bright, violet eyes.

Clark sighed a sigh of defeat, and started.

„Alright, alright. It wasn't anything big, you know. I was just in the area, I saw the fire, I heard some fire-fighters saying that there was probably one more person inside, and that they had no chance of making their way to him. So, I thought _‚screw it,'_ and went in," he said, trying to sound calm.

He was never a good liar, anyone could tell you that, including his own girlfriend. And yeah, maybe this story wasn't exactly.. true. Sure, the outline was pretty much the same, but some of the details weren't correct.

Lois just hummed in appreciation, she quickly thanked him, for which Clark was surprised – she never thanks anyone, according to what he heard about her. Anyway, Clark just smiled, nodded, and made his way over to Jimmy, who was, once again, editing some of his pictures.

„Hey, Jimmy. How's it going?"

* * *

„Toyman, I said _I want it to be ready by the end of June_ , what is so hard to understand? The gas is ready, I just need the damn machine!" screeched Luthor, his tone full of frustration and exasperation.

„I-I.. I'll have it ready for you in a few days," he squeaked.

Luthor pinched the bridge of his nose with his hand, and sighed.

„I want it ready tomorrow. Got it?"

Toyman seemed to think for a little bit, and then started nodding frantically.

„Good."

* * *

„Hey, Clark?" asked Sarah, who was currently lying on top of him, her head on his chest.

They were currently in the Kent house, seeing as Clark ended early today with his ‚shift,' as Sarah liked to call it, and decided to run home for a little while. He didn't want to fly, as his clothes ripped too much from the air resistance and such.

„Yeah?"

„What do you think our shipname should be?" she asked him, her eyes meeting his, and with a teasing smile on her face.

Clark looked at her with a confused expression on her face, and then started laughing his ass off. Sarah punched him in the chest, though it probably hurt her more than him. Scratch that, it definitely hurt her more than him.

„Y-You mean, like.. Percabeth and-and Caskett and names like that?" he asked, trying to control his breathing.

Sarah looked at him, and smiled, seeing the happy and carefree expression on his face, it made a tingling sensation in her stomach erupt to a full-on surge of flying butterflies.

She nodded.

„Well," Clark started, „there are two options. We will either use our first names, or our last names, as the combination."

Sarah just nodded, a small smile still adorning her face. „Go on," she urged him.

„So, we will either have Clarah, or... Kentson."

She burst out laughing at the latter, which Clark definitely was NOT expecting. After a while, he started laughing, too. The scene must have looked pretty funny, two teenagers curled up together, cuddling in each other's embrace, and laughing their butts off.

After the laughter died down, Sarah wiped the gentle tears from the corners of her eyes, and looked at him again.

„I think Clarah is the better option here."

„Couldn't agree more," he answered, leaning down and capturing her lips with his.

After their kiss, which was still magneficent as always, ended, Sarah asked him another question.

„How's your supersuit project going?" she asked, and she giggled (seriously? Giggled? She basically never giggles.. the effect this boy has on her) at the use of the name _supersuit_ , while Clark just grunted in response.

„It's going good. I still feel like something's missing, though," he answered her, while looking into her silvery blue eyes. The color wasn't that much unique, but to him, it was the most beautiful eye-color in the world.

„Show me."

* * *

At the fortress, Clark showed her the unfinished version of the suit. Well, unfinished, because it was still missing something.

Sarah looked at it thoughtfully, when another question popped into her mind.

„Why the color-scheme? You know? The red, yellow and blue?"

Clark looked at the suit, a thoughtful expression on his face.

„There are two reasons for it. One, I know blue is your favorite color," she blushed at that a little, and he smiled, „and it's mine, too."

She looked thoughtful for a moment. „And the second reason?"

Clark smiled softly. „Because it signifies both of my heritages."

At her confused expression, he decided to elaborate. „Blue for Earth. Red for Krypton's red sun. Yellow for Earth's yellow sun, which is technically white, but.."

„I think I know what's missing," she said at last. He looked at her, surprise written all over his face, yet he seemed.. delighted?

„What?"

„A cape," she answered without missing a beat. She remembered the cape/blanket he showed her – it was indestructible just like him, and it had basically the same color as the S-shield.

„A cape," he muttered to himself. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, as if he finally figured out what cape she meant, and super-sped into another area of the fortress. He arrived a few seconds later, a red cape with the familiar S-Shield imprinted in it.

Carefully, he put the cape on the suit, and voila, the suit finally looked.. complete. At last.

„It looks magneficent, Clark," Sarah breathed. She could imagine how Clark would look like in the suit itself. Powerful. Majestic. Godlike.

She looked at Clark then, his expression not betraying anything. It was the eyes that betrayed him. He looked proud.

* * *

The next day went painfully slowly, and Clark was starting to get bored. When you're a Kryptonian powerhouse and can get anything done in a few seconds, you tend to get a little bored. His prayers for something to do were answered when somebody shouted. Everyone looked in the direction of the source of the shout, which was, unsurprisingly, Jimmy Olsen, watching something out of the window with wide eyes.

Clark followed, along with most of the Daily Planet staff, and when he looked out the window, he couldn't help but be surprised. And horrified.

Metahumans, a literal army of metauhmans, were attacking everything and everyone they could get their hands on, using their various abilities. Clark focused his vision, and saw a tint of green in the air.

 _Air isn't supposed to be green,_ Clark thought, and immediately scolded himself mentally. _Captain Obvious over here._

He knew he had to do something. Anything. With that thought, Clark started running, and once he was outside of the building, he took into the skies, with only one location in mind. His fortress.

* * *

In the Watchtower, the Justice League space station headquarters, the founding members found themselves sitting around a round table. In the background, various TV NEWS stations were streaming the current events happening in Metropolis.

„Do we know what is it?" asked Diana Prince, also known as Wonder Woman, the first woman superheroine.

„It seems that metahumans have gone.. barserk, for the lack of better word. We don't know what happened, or why it happened, but we need to send at least some of the Leaguers down there immediately," answered Batman, also known as Bruce Wayne, playboy and orphan extraordinaire.

* * *

Clark flew into his fortress at an incredible speed, breaking the sound-barrier countless of times – he had a suspicion he had flown much faster than he usually ran, but he didn't have time to dwell on that right now.

Clark went into the fotress lab, where he found just what he had been loking for – an S shield. Not just an ordinary shield, no. He put the shield at the center of his chest, and by the flick of his fingers, the nano-technology in the shield activated itself, surrounding him with his new suit/armor. Quickly putting the cape on, he immediately lifted himself up into the air, and started flying in the direction of Metropolis.

 _Please, don't let me be too late. Please, please, please._

* * *

 **I know, this chapter is kinda short, but don't worry. The next chapter will be longer, and a lot of metahumans, along with some Leaguers, will make an appearance. Please, write a review, I'd really appreciate it :)**


	25. Chapter 25 - A Wonder of a Fighter

**Okay, wow. This is the longest chapter yet, and I had so much fun and enjoyment writing it that it's almost unbelievable. It's currently 1 AM, which isn't too late, and I really hope you'll enjoy this one:)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman. Unfortunately.**

* * *

Chapter 25 - A Wonder of a Fighter

„Sarah, get down here right now! You need to see this!" yelled the distressed voice of her uncle.

Sarah immediately bolted up from her bed and started running down the stairs, expecting something terrible. And she was not wrong. Wordlessly, her uncle pointed at the television, which was currently feeding LIVE from what seemed to be Metropolis.

The sky had a green tint to it, and based on what she saw on the screen, the place looked like a battleground. She faintly heard a reporter say something about metahumans going absolutely berserk and the Justice League, when something on the corner of her eye caught her attention.

A blue blur.

Apparently, the cameraman, as well as the reporter, noticed it, too, and immediately positioned the camera to the direction of the blur's last location. There, upon focusing the camera, was a sight to behold.

Sarah's boyfriend was currently flying overhead, assessing the situation, before flying down and gently knocking out metahumans with the flick of his finger.

Sarah took the notice of the green tint in the air, and deduced that it was some kind of gas, making all the metahumans go completely crazy. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head.

Quickly putting some shoes on and grabbing her jacket, she bolted right out of the house, leaving the stunned members of her family looking at where she was just a few seconds ago.

She started running at full speed, not caring how it must have looked like, and made her way over to school, where the science lab was. Technically, she is more like a biologist, but under the circumstances, she reckoned she could make an exception.

Finally making her way to the school, which was closed, but she did not care at the moment, she made her way inside (don't ask how), and quickly entered the science lab, where she found the equipment she'd need to contact her dumbass of a boyfriend, who just had to be wearing a skin-tight suit with no pockets, therefore, with no phone.

 _You owe me one, Kent._

* * *

The city looked like a war zone. People running, building facades and windows broken, scorched, cracked; cars demolished. And a small army of metahumans destroying everything in sight. Oh, and apparently, some new superhero with blue tights flying around, trying to help.

That's the sight that greeted the members of the Justice League, namely Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg and Black Canary. Batman, being the detective, immediately noticed something was wrong with Wonder Woman and Black Canary, who seemed to be having a strange reaction to something in the air.

Out of nowhere, Black Canary used her canary cry, almost making the dark knight wince. His eyes widened when he realized what had happened.

While Wonder Woman, being the daughter of the Amazon queen, Hippolyta, relies mainly on her magic and fight experience, she still carries the metahuman gene, which seemed to be affected by the green gas in the air. The same could be said about Black Canary, who is a metahuman herself.

Thinking through his options, he did the thing most rational people would do - get as far away from Wonder Woman as possible. He knew he could take Black Canary down, even though she is a very experienced fighter, but even he knew he never stood a chance against a literally bloodlusted Wonder Woman.

„Cyborg," said Batman into his comm, „the strange gas in the air seems to be affecting both Black Canary and Wonder Woman. The gas seems to be affecting metahumans only, so we can't send any other metahuman members of the League down here. Got it?"

„Got it, Bats," answered the half-man/half-machine member of the team.

Batman decided that he would do anything in his power to help these people, while trying to come out at least half alive, if that's even possible.

* * *

Clark, for his part, was taking this harder than he would've thought. The metahumans were pretty easy to knock out, since none of them were very powerful, but he almost forgot that while they couldn't hurt him, they could hurt the innocent. Quickly rising up in the air, he was preparing to focus his vision abilities and find other metahumans, so that it could end once and for all.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his ears, followed by a high-pitched sound and a voice he recognized too well.

„ _Clark, I know you can hear me, and I know it probably hurts you, so I'm going to be quick. The gas seems to be affecting only metahumans, and I think that with a sample of the gas, I'll be able to create a counter-gas of sorts, therefore, I need you to get your ass in here pretty quickly, and take me to S.T.A.R. labs along with a sample."_

Clark already figured the part about the gas out himself, but if Sarah could create a counter-gas, and end this, then this would end once and for all, and no more innocent people would have to get hurt. Quickly making his mind, Clark scanned the city for the closest Justice League member, which, conveniently, seemed to be Batman.

He flew over to him and landed beside him, not giving him the time to ask him any question.

„I know you don't know who I am, but you can trust me. I'm trying to help people, just like you do. Now, I know your name wasn't mentioned in the article, but my guess is that you are in the League, anyway. I know someone who can create a counter-gas of sorts, and end this once and for all," he said, Batman, while looking a little bit surprised, just nodded at him to continue.

„I'll have to fly away for a few minutes, and I need you to keep doing everything you're doing. Alright?"

Not giving Batman the time to respond once again, Clark bolted straight up into the sky, turning into the direction of Smallville, Kansas.

 _Who the hell is this guy,_ thought Batman. He knows about every metahuman in the U.S., but if even one of the metahumans could fly, Bruce was sure he'd remember him.

* * *

About a minute later, in which Clark was also able to take a sample of the gas, the Kryptonian was hovering above Smallville High, in front of which stood Sarah, already waiting for him.

Landing quietly, but quickly, beside her, she gave out a little yelp of surprise, but her eyes softened the moment she saw it was him.

Even though she knew there was no time, she took the few seconds to appreciate her boyfriend's physique in a skin-tight armor, which left very little to the imagination.

„Told you it would look better with the cape. Now, I need you to take me to S.T.A.R. Labs, preferably in Metropolis. You have the sample?" she asked him.

Clark held out a little vial, inside of which was the sample she'd been asking for. Quickly grabbing it, he pulled her into his arms, not giving her the time to adjust, before he took off into the sky again.

Sarah was scared shitless, and as if he sensed it, he held her a little tighter. A few minutes later, she felt Clark slowing down. Carefully opening her eyes, she was that they weren't that high up in the air. They seemed to be hovering about a hundred and fifty feet from the ground. Clark gently landed in front the S.T.A.R. Labs bulding in the outskirts of Metropolis, where three guards immediately cornered them.

„Hands in the air, freak!" yelled one of the guards.

Clark sighed, and rolled his eyes, much to Sarah's amusement. „Listen up, guys. She can make a cure for all of this. She just needs a lab. We're not here to do any harm. Pinky promise."

Sarah, in a different situation, would have laughed right there and then. There, right next to her, stood her boyfriend, an alien, the last of his kind, the most powerful being on Earth, giving sarcastic remarks to three guards of a lab, while not even a mile away, all hell was breaking loose.

They looked dumbfounded, but apparently, they decided to believe him, though they looked at her a bit strangely.

They led them inside the lab, and there, in the middle of the lab itself, stood a beautiful brunette, approximately in her mid-twenties, wearing a tight black skirt and white blouse. She looked at them questioningly, as if asking _Who are you and what are you doing in here?_

„Hi, I know this is not the time, but my name's Sarah Wilson, and I think I can cure the metahumans." At her questioning, and slightly curious look, she decided to elaborate. „Someone leaked a gas in the air, which seems to attack the metahuman gene, whether it's activated or not. Luckily, not all people have the gene, or else it would be a completely different situation.

I have the sample of the gas, thanks to the tighty-pants over here," she gestured at Clark, who looked at her with a little surprise and a great deal of amusement in his eyes, the woman cracked a smile, too, though she looked at Clark as if it was the first time she noticed him, „I think I can reverse engineer the gas."

She spoke so fast without taking a breath that she felt like she was suffocating right now. She breathed in deeply, and looked at the woman again, her expression unreadable. After a few seconds, her face broke into a warm smile.

„Hello. My name's Caitlin Snow, and I think we could use your help over here. As for your friend," she looked at Clark pointedly, „I think he should go back to the city and help the others."

She then strolled somewhere and came back in less than ten seconds, and much to Clark's surprise, she handed him a phone.

„It's my collegue's, so be careful. When we're done, Sarah over here will call you and you'll come here to pick up the counter-gas. Or the antidote. Or the cure. Call it whatever you want, just be here the moment we call you. Got it?"

Clark just nodded, putting the phone in his pocket, which seemed to be.. in his cape? and gave Sarah one last, reassuring smile, before making his way out of the fortress.

* * *

Paul was scared shitless, and that's an incredible understatement.

 _Let's have a trip to Metropolis, they said. It'll be fun, they said,_ he though sarcastically, while he was hiding under the table in some random café he and his friend, Mark, managed to find in the busy city.

He heard a growl somewhere above him, and he saw Mark looking at him with so much wildness in his eyes, that he almost peed his pants. Yeah, not the most bravest death ever, but who gave a shit right about now? Oh, and apparently, his best friend is a metahuman. Who forgot to mention this little fact to him, despite the fact that they've known each other since they were little kids.

Just as Mark was about to punch his brains out, a blue blur figure appeared in front of him, giving Mark a flick on the forehead, which, apparently, knocked him unconscious, much to Paul's surprise, fear, and delight.

The blue figure turned around, and instead of some malice looking creature or another metahuman, he saw a young man, teenager even, with inhumanly blue eyes and a kind expression.

„You should stay here for a while. You're safe here," the man said, giving him a reassuring smile and turning around, apparently planning to leave. Before he could leave, though. Paul had to ask him a question.

„Who are you?"

The man turned around, his eyes softening even more. „Someone trying to help."

And just like that, he was gone. If you asked Paul, he would have said that the man flew away, but that wasn't possible, right? Right? Well, except for that Wonder Woman chick, but apparently, that was magical or something.

Talk about the world going crazy.

So, for now, Paul made his way deeper into the café, and curled up himself under the counter, thinking about the man who has just saved his life. Whoever the man is, Paul sure as hell will be forever grateful to him.

* * *

Diana, being the tough Amazon, and daughter of queen Hippolyta she's always been, tried extremely hard to fight back, she tried to regain the control over her own body, which seemed to be betraying her constantly. The gas seemed to have weaker effect on her than the other metahumans, seeing she was an Amazon, whose physiology was slightly different than the average mortal, but that didn't mean that she would get the control of her body back easily.

She fought the hardest she could, but she couldn't win. That didn't mean she was going to stop, though. She'd rather end up in Tartarus than to hurt these people.

She was about to take a swing at some tired-looking man with a pot belly, when somebody caught her fist. But that's not possible. She was the strongest being on the planet. There is no way in Hades' underpants that someone would be able to catch her punch, while not getting hurt themselves in the process.

She looked at the person, who apparently caught her fist, and she'd be lying if she said that she was surprised. There stood a man, taller than even her, wearing a blue suit, which looked like a mix of an armor and a skin-tight leather, with crimson boots, crimson belt, and some kind of a shield with an S inside of it, adorning his chest. But what surprised her most were his eyes.

They were deep blue, but they held so much innocence in them. The man. _The boy,_ she corrected herself immediately, couldn't be more than seventeen, even with his size.

His eyes bored into hers, with an intensity so strong for such a young soul, that she couldn't help but be shocked, once again. They held a lot of compassion and support, as if he could see her internal fight.

„You can fight it, Wonder Woman. I can see it in your eyes. You're trying to fight it. And you'll win," he said, his voice deep and rich, full of support and honest believe.

She tried to fight harder, harder than she thought was possible, but still, she could not defeat the gas she was still breathing in. Without her permission, her body charged at him, making a round-kick, without holding back, for the first time in her life. He dodged, but just barely.

She could see it. He was untrained. He's probably never had a fight in his life with someone nearly as powerful as her. He had no experience. And she knew that if she kept fighting him, he'd eventually lose.

She tried to tell him, but instead of her voice, a low growl could be heard.

The boy sighed, but not with annoyance. More like.. acceptance. Acceptance that he would have to fight her.

„I admire you a lot, you know? You, and other heroes, were the reason I decided to help people. To come out, so to say. I don't want to fight you. I really don't. I can see you're trying to fight it, and I want you to know that I still believe in you, but I can't let you hurt these people. I just can't."

He shook his head at that, and his voice sounded so honest and heartbroken, like a little child. She could see that he didn't want to fight her – didn't want to hurt her. But he didn't want the innocent people to get hurt, either. It was a tough choice to make, and she knew it.

She was tired of fighting the gas, and with one look into his eyes, she knew exactly what to do. And with that, she finally let go, let the gas take control of her body, because she believed that he would be able to restrain her.

Maybe not defeat her, but restrain her long enough so that the gas would stop having this effect on her.

She punched, she kicked, her moves graceful even without her having proper control of her own body. And surprisingly, he indeed did fight back, although with a certain level of reluctance. She kicked, he ducked, she punched, he caught, she punched again, he ducked again, and counter-attacked. She could see him holding back a lot of his power, and even with that, his punches still hurt her like nothing she's ever felt before.

If she gets.. no, WHEN she gets out of this, she's going to train the hell out of him, and it's going to be fun. For now, she let him take control of the situation, and hoped for the best.

* * *

Clark, in the meantime, was having an inner conflict with himself. He didn't know why he just didn't knock her out. Maybe it was because of the look in her eyes – the eyes of a fighter, a warrior, a spirit that never gives up. Or maybe because he just admired her so much, as she was one of the first public superheroes.

Nevertheless, she was tough. Really tough. Clark let his instincts take control, while he focused on finding the source of the gas. He used all of his vision powers, including the microscopic, when he noticed something.

It looked like a machine ( _duh, Clark_ ). It was tall, slender, and, with a little bit more focus with his x-ray vision, he noticed that the machine was indeed leaking some kind of gas into the air. The Kryptonian didn't even have to guess what kind of gas it was. What did surprise him, though, was the building the machine was currently on top of.

LexCorp.

* * *

Lex was having an angry fit in his office, tearing papers, paintings and throwing his table across the room. Mercy Graves, her expression cold and calculating, just stood there, observing him.

„THE GAS WAS SUPPOSED TO GIVE ME CONTROL OVER METAHUMANS, NOT LET THEM CUT LOOSE!" he yelled at no one in particular, and yet, Mercy, even if cold and calculating, still flinched under the tone and volume of his voice.

After another few minutes of tearing apart everything and kicking a particular spot on the wall, his breathed started to become even, and he closed his eyes. He was finally calming down.

„Okay. Okay. I have to calm down and just check the formula once again. There has to be a mistake somewhere. It shouldn't have worked this way," he mumbled to himself, although Mercy heard him crystal clear.

Taking it as her cue to leave, she turned around and left his office, leaving Lex Luthor mumbling to himself, while checking the formula of the gas that the machine was currently leaking into the air just a few floors above him.

* * *

„So, Sarah.. you have any plans after finishing high school?" asked Caitlin Snow. Both of the girls, or rather, both of the women, were currently waiting for the last process of the reverse-engineering of the gas, just so Sarah could finally call Clark and let him pick up the counter-gas.

Both of the girls, while extremely worried, found the time to talk in-between the science-talk. Sarah discovered that Caitlin was the current head-scientist of the Metropolitan S.T.A.R. Labs office, while Caitlin discovered that Sarah was still a high school student.

„I'm planning to apply to Metropolis University. I want to study Biology. Why?" answered Sarah, giving Caitlin a questioning glance.

Caitlin bit her lip, then looked at the young girl beside her. „We could use somebody like you. You're young, smart, resourceful. Just what we need. And I know college isn't the cheapest business, so, maybe.. an internship?"

Sarah's face slowly broke into a shit-eating grin. „I would be honored, Ms. Snow," she answered earnestly.

Caitlin just smiled at her. She was ready to say something, but then, the computer started beeping, signalizing that the counter-gas was ready. They looked at each other and nodded. Caitlin picked up the phone and searched through her contacts, trying to find the name of the collegue whose phone she gave to the young hero.

Finally locating the name, she dialed.

* * *

Clark was certainly not expecting for his cape to start buzzing, which broke him out of his concentration, and earned him a very hard punch into his jaw from Wonder Woman. And yeah, it hurt like a bitch, but why wouldn't it? He's pretty sure that Wonder Woman is one of the most powerful beings on Earth, including him. There's a big chance that she could hurt him really badly.

Quickly pulling the phone out of his pocket, he looked at the ID of the person calling and saw the name _Caitlin Snow._ Recognizing the name, Clark immediately answered, and put the phone next to his ear, while blocking another one of Wonder Woman's punches, this time aimed for his stomach.

„Is the gas ready?" he asked right after answering the phone.

„Yes. I need you to come for it. Is everything alright?" she asked him, a little bit of concern in her voice. He heard Sarah asking in the background if everything's alright.

„Yeah, everything's peachy, just having a little chat with Wonder Woman over here. I'll be there in a minute," he hung up right after the finished the sentence. Deciding that the game had to end, Clark used a little bit of his superspeed and approached Wonder Woman from behind, getting a hold of her neck, cutting her air supply.

„I'm truly sorry it had to end like this," he said, seconds before she passed out.

* * *

„Did he just say that he was fighting Wonder Woman?" asked Sarah, fear itching into her eyes.

Wonder Woman was extremely powerful. No one has ever defeated her in one-on-one fight. Rumors had it that not even Batman was able to do it. Clark stood no chance.

Seconds later, she heard the unmistakable sound of a sonic boom, and not too late after that, she saw her boyfriend at the door. He looked pretty much normal, except his suit looked a little dirty.

Clark would rather not mention the uppercut he had received after the phone buzzed. Luckily, the bruise had healed before it was even visible.

„Are you okay?" asked Sarah as she approached him carefully.

„Yeah, I'm alright," he gave her a reassuring smile.

They stared into each other's eyes intensely, before a gentle clear of someone's throat interrupted them. Quickly stepping away from each other, both of them blushed at Caitlin, who stood there, a big vial (well, more like a tube) of blue liquid in her hands, her eyes full of amusement betraying the expressionless expression plastered on her face.

Clark shrugged sheepishly and made his way over to her. She gave him the vial-tube. Yeah, let's call it the vial-tube.

„Just.. be careful, okay?" said Sarah quietly, outside of Caitlin's hearing range.

Clark slowly nodded, leaned down, kissed her forehead, and in a flash, he was gone once again, leaving Sarah there, in the company of a gusted wind.

* * *

Clark easily located the LexCorp building – quickly flying to the top, he x-rayed the machine, so that he could become familiar with the structure, wiring and such. After a few seconds, he figured out precisely how the machine itself worked, and immediately got to work.

He was interrupted when he heard the panicked screaming, and saw one of the skyscrapers slowly crumpling down. Without hesitation, Clark abandoned the vial-tube and started flying to the direction of the skyscraper, and even though it was less than a mile away from him, he broke the sound barrier approximately four times.

Getting there, he was that most of the pillars on the ground floor were extremely damaged, and that they would not be able to support the weight of the building. He saw a.. kind of man/robot hybrid, who he guessed was Cyborg, another Justice League member, trying to hold the weight of the pillars, with no such luck.

Without hesitation, Clark flew over to the main pillar, which statistically held the most of the weight, and started pulling. The weight was barely straining his muscles, but he had to keep his focus, unless the whole building would come crumbling down at him, and more importantly, other people.

With a quick nod to Cyborg, the half-man/half-machine let go of the pillars, giving the rest of the weight of the skyscrapers to Clark. Clark used his x-ray vision and saw that there were still people inside the building.

„Cyborg, I need you do to something," said Clark. Cyborg looked at him questioningly, and nodded. „The machine that's spreading the gas is on top of the LexCorp building. I left the counter-gas right next to it. It's your job to do it now, as I am a bit too preoccupied."

Clark chuckled at that a little, as did Cyborg, before nodding again. Before Cyborg went, he produced something small from his hand, and put it into Clark's ear. Clark immediately realized that it was a comm.

Clark nodded at Cyborg in thanks, before giving his entire attention to the skyscraper he was currently holding in his bare hands.

He, of course, heard the whispers of people, looking at him in awe, fascination, or horror. He hoped it was the latter, though. He didn't want people to be afraid of him.

So, for now, he'd just hold this skyscraper for as long as he needed to, because that was his job now. And he would make sure that he did a damn good job at it.

* * *

 **I hope you liked this one. Please, write a review and let me know what you think about this chapter:)**

 **See you around:)**


	26. Chapter 26 - Crisis Averted?

**Hi. I know this is one of the shortest chapters yet, but I promise, the next one will definitely be longer. :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman. Unfortunately.**

* * *

Chapter 26 - Crisis Averted?

„Uh, people, I know you want to see the show of a guy holding a skyscraper, but please, you need to leave in case the building becomes even more unstable. You could get hurt," said Clark to the on-lookers who looked at him like they've never seen anything like this before. Well, they probably haven't, but that is not the point.

He could see, from the corner of his eye, that Jimmy Olsen was taking pictures of him with his camera, but he couldn't care less at the moment. He knew the moment the metahumans started going berserk, he would have to reveal himself to the world a lot sooner than he expected.

Much, much sooner.

He remembered he still had the Justice League comm Cyborg had given him.

„Cyborg, you there?"

A few seconds later, the voice of the half-man/half-machine answered.

„ _Yeah, I'm here. I'm almost there, just a few minutes. How you holding up?"_ he asked him, and Clark could hear a little bit of panting through the comm.

He supposed that having with half of your body made out of not-so-light metal, running long-distances wasn't very easy.

„It's more of a logistics problem than the problem of strength, but the civilians are still here, and I worry that they could get hurt. Somebody needs to stabilize the skyscraper. Somebody who knows what to do."

„ _We'll send someone there as soon as we can, but you have to wait for at least a few minutes, until I put the counter-gas in the machine. It's still there, right?"_

Clark looked at the direction of the LexCorp building, and with the use of both his x-ray and microscopic vision, he could see that the counter-gas was right next to the machine.

„Yeah, it's still there. I checked it out already and I know what to do, so I can give you instructions if needed. There is still a lot of metahumans who have not been restrained yet, we can't afford to lose much time."

„ _Got it. But I have one question for you,"_ he asked, and Clark sensed something strange in his voice. Curiosity.

„Shoot," said Clark. He looked at the police officer among the on-lookers. „Not you."

It took him a few seconds, but eventually, Cyborg asked him the question he's wanted to ask since he first saw him. _„Who are you? What should we call you? Why are you here?"_

Clark chuckled a little at that, but he was very careful not to move any muscle supporting the skyscraper. „That's more than one question. Alright, I'm someone who wanted to help, even though I didn't think I would reveal myself to the world this soon.

I have no idea what you should call me, I didn't think of a moniker as of yet, but I guess you can call me," Clark thought about it, „Kal. For now. And as for why I am here, I'm here because I saw what was happening in the city, and I knew I had to do something to help.

Now, any more questions?"

He took the silence he got as a no.

Clark looked at the on-lookers, who didn't listen to him and stayed and watched anyway, and was surprised to see that some of the police officers put a tape in front of them, so that they couldn't come any closer and accidentally hurt themselves.

He was glad for that, and with a nod to his officers, he gave them the message. They nodded back.

* * *

Cyborg arrived to the LexCorp building and now he was running up the stairs to the roof, where, according to ‚Kal', the counter-gas and machine responsible for it all is situated.

Finally, he reached the door which led to the roof. Kicking it down, not caring if it was locked or not, he stepped onto the roof, and immediately saw the machine.

The machine itself was tall, slender, and had a black and silver color scheme, and it was humming. Not surprising. It was a machine.

„Okay, Kal, I'm right next to the machine. Where's the counter gas?" he asked into the comm.

A few seconds later, Kal answered.

„ _3 feet on your 3 o'clock. Be careful and not step on it, please,"_ he said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Clark was surprised at how exact his instructions were, but he looked to the right and right there, 3 feet away from him, was a vial with blue liquid inside of it. Quickly grabbing it, he made his way over to the machine.

 _Alright, Vic, now you just need to put it in. Somehow. It's not like the whole world is depending on me. Just the city. Of 10 million people. Yeah._

He started analyzing the machine with the use of his various equipment installed within him, and was surprised to see the signature wiring of one of the criminal inventors the League kept an eye on. Toyman.

„Alright, Kal. I scanned the machine and I think I know what to do, but just to make sure, tell me what you think I should do. The machine was made by an inventor who calls himself Toyman, and he has a knack for traps in his inventions," said Cyborg.

„ _Okay. I checked it with my x-ray vision,_ " _With his what?_ Cyborg thought, „and based on the wiring, you should pull the red lever 6 feet above the ground." Cyborg gestured to the first red lever that he found. „ _Yeah, that one. Okay. Now, pull it."_

Cyborg pulled the lever.

„ _Okay, now I need you to push the green button on your left. Yep, that one," he said as Cyborg gestured to a green button._

After he pushed it, the machine humming of the machine seemed to slow down.

„It's slowing down."

„ _Good. After it stops, a pocket of sorts should open up and there will be the vial of the original gas. I need you to get the original vial out and replace it with the counter-gas. Then, you just pull the lever and push the button again, and it's done. Got it?"_

Cyborg nodded, and then, when he figured that the man couldn't probably see him, he confirmed it into the comm.

When the machine slowed down, Cyborg did as instructed. The original gas looked green-ish – no surprise there, it looked green in the air, too – and it was in a liquid form just like the counter-gas. He figured that the machine somehow leaked the liquid in the form of gas.

 _No shit, Vic,_ he thought.

He quickly replaced the vials and activated the machine again.

After the machine started working again, it released the counter-gas, which this time, looked blue in the air.

Cyborg proceeded to do a victory dance, much to Clark's amusement, who was watching from his position about a mile away.

* * *

Batman listened to the conversation on the comm, and a few minutes after the man who called himself Kal gave the instructions to Cyborg, he noticed that the air started losing the green tint to it and was replaced by blue.

He looked around, where some of the metahumans were. They stopped. They no longer had that clouded look in their eyes.

It was over.

„Good job," he said to the comm.

And it was. Now, he had one more mission. Find out who this Kal was.

* * *

 **Alright, so this is the 26th chapter. I know it's short. And I promise, as I said up there, in the first AN, the next chapter will be longer - it will deal with Clark's revelation to the world and so on :)**

 **See you until then.**


	27. Chapter 27 - Aftermath

**Alright, I wrote a really short chapter today, but I suddenly got the urge to write yet another chapter, and I'm really glad I did. This one is the longest yet, beating chapter 25 by almost 1 000 words. I hope you'll like it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman, Justice League, or anything DC related. Except my OCs, who is a fucking badass and I love her.**

* * *

Chapter 27 - Aftermath

Jonathan and Martha Kent were sitting in their living room, watching the event in Metropolis LIVE on their TV. Martha's hand covered her mouth, her eyes full of unshed tears.

Jonathan wasn't much better. His son. His little boy. He was up there, helping. He revealed himself to the world, and yet, Jonathan could not be more prouder. His son is a hero. They raised him well, even though he still has a long way to go.

Jonathan hugged Martha close to him and kissed her forehead.

„It's over, Martha. Clark is okay. Everyone is okay. They stopped it," he murmured gently. Martha just nodded, but didn't say anything else, but Jonathan knew what she was thinking.

It may be over, but the cost was still too high. Metropolis looked like a war zone. Their son has revealed himself to the world. People will be afraid of him, even with the Justice League. They will be afraid of him now more than ever, just because of what happened today.

But they will push through it. They will help him.

He may be the strongest hero on the planet, but he is still their little boy.

It's over. Clark couldn't believe. After hours, it's finally over. They did it. From the corner of his eye, Clark saw some civilians, along with a group of firefighters, make their way to him.

The civilians started checking the building, the pillars, and eventually, him, and what he was doing. The firefighters just looked at him like they've never seen something like this before.

Clark figured that the civilians were architects or something along those lines.

One of the civilians stepped closer to him.

„We are here to stabilize the building, Mr.." said one of the civilians, waiting for Clark to elaborate and tell them his name.

„I would shake your hand, but I am a bit preoccupied at the moment. You can call me Kal for now. Okay, do what you have to do and tell me what I have to do," said Clark.

The man nodded. Clark figured that he was probably their boss or something, since he started directing the rest of the people.

„Jonah, check the stability of the pillars in the west corridor. Lezewski, you do the same in the east corridor. Kang, you take the north, and finally, Gale, you take the south. Got it? Good. Go."

The man then turned to him.

„Sorry for that, uh, Kal. My name's Robert O'Connor, I'm an architect, but I specialize in demolishing, as well as stabilizing unstable buildings. Seeing that this baby here isn't too damaged, we think we can stabilize it with your help."

„I'm listening," said Clark.

* * *

About an hour later, the building was finally stabilized with steel beams, with which Clark helped. Normally, it would take the team about five to six hours to stabilize building such as this, maybe even more.

After almost an hour and a half of non-stop supporting almost 150 000 tons of rubber, steel and glass, Clark wanted to just go home with Sarah, hug her and his parents, and watch Netflix and cuddle.

That was until he saw everything that happened while he was holding the damn skyscraper.

The city was in shambles, many Justice League members, such as Zatanna, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Flash, Batman, Aquaman and even some of the newest members, such as The Atom and Blue Beetle, were all helping with the search and rescue.

Clark decided without a second thought that he would help, whether the Justice League wants him to or not.

Quickly focusing his energy, he slowly floated up into the air, and with the use of his x-ray vision and super-hearing, he was able to locate some of the people buried alive in the debris of various buildings.

He found and rescued about 12 people before he found something he feared most. The dead.

As respectfully and gently as he could, he slowly picked up the dead young woman in his arms, and floated her up downtown, where most of the.. casualties, as people called it.. were.

Tears pickled in the corners of his eyes, but he willed them not to fall yet. He still had a job to do.

When he finally reached downtown, the woman still in his arms, he knew he made a mistake. There, on the street, were dozens of people, covered in black body bags, long towels, blankets, anything able to cover them.

This time, Clark didn't willed the tears back.

This time, he let himself cry. For the people he couldn't safe.

He was too late to save them.

And it was all his fault.

* * *

Wonder Woman was also helping with search and rescue, along with all available Justice League members. She woke up just in time to see the blue gas replace the green.

And yet, the casualties were still too high, but there was nothing she could do. She had to put on a brave face and try to find as many living people as she could.

And that's how she found herself downtown. She found too many dead and too little living. She gently put the middle-aged man in the row of the covered bodies, and prepared to fly off, when she noticed something, or rather someone, from the corner of her eye that made her stop in her tracks.

She looked into the direction, and saw the man in blue. The man that fought her. The man that urged her to fight the gas, and the man who was able to beat her. He was shaking. And she knew the reason why.

He was new. Inexperienced. He's never seen death up close. She was like that, too, in Themyscira.

She quickly flew over to him, and the closer she got, the louder she could hear his sobs. She didn't make her presence know, but he could feel her.

„Will it ever get any easier?" he asked her, his voice hoarse.

She contemplated whether to give him a white lie or to tell the hard truth. She decided to go with the former.

„No. It doesn't. It never gets easier. But we have to push through. There are people still depending on us. We can't fail them," she said gently.

He turned his head and looked at her. She noticed his face for the first time. She was too focused on fighting the gas before. He looked young, so, so young. He couldn't be older than eighteen, and yet, he held the weight of the world on his shoulders. Sad, but not unexpected.

„What's your name?" she asked him.

„You can call me Kal. That's my birth name," he told her, his voice slightly stronger now.

„Kal," she tested the name on her lips, „I know how you feel. But there is nothing we can do to help these people. They're not here anymore. What we can do, however, is to help the people who are. What do you say?"

He nodded mutely, and with that, both of them rose into the air.

Jimmy Olsen smiled to himself a little sadly. He heard the conversation between this Kal and Wonder Woman, while also getting a good picture out of it. She was right, but it still hurt.

* * *

Lois Lane was making her way down the street, helping everyone she could. Years ago, she wouldn't give a crap about any of this – she would try to get the story out of it.

She is not the same Lois Lane she used to be all those years ago. She didn't care about the story at the moment. All she cared about right now was the current state of her city, and the people in it.

As hard as she wanted to deny it, Jonathan Carroll has indeed changed her in more ways than one.

But when she noticed the man in a blue suit with a red cape flying overhead, she couldn't help but be very curious.

 _Who is he?_

Sarah didn't know what to think, and she didn't know what she was currently doing in Metropolis, when she should be at home, with her aunt and uncle, not helping here. There was Justice League for that.

And yet she knew. She knew how hard Clark would take it all. She knew how hard she took it all. And she knew, that the price for this all was too high. There are people buried alive in there, and if you think even for a second that she wouldn't help, you're dead wrong.

She and Clark would find comfort in each other later. Now, she had work to do.

* * *

It's been hours since the event, now dubbed by the media as The Takeover, has ended, it was past the evening, and it was getting dark, but Clark was still working. Most of the Leaguers went either to the Watchtower or somewhere else to rest, but not Clark, even though he is not a Leaguer.

He discovered a family in the rubble that used to be a subway station. They were alive. The father had a broken leg because he tried to protect his daughter and wife from the falling debris, and he did it. Clark personally carried them all over to the hospital, getting a fair share of curious glances in the process.

Clark was currently standing downtown, looking at nothing in particular. The streets were now mostly empty.

„You should rest, you know?"

Clark turned around, not expecting to hear the sound of _her_ voice. He thought for a second that his senses deceived him, but it turned out he was wrong. There, in front of him, stood his girlfriend, Sarah Wilson, in her usual, skinny-jeaned and t-shirted glory. She was dirty, but to him, she looked more beautiful than ever.

„I'm not tired. I want to help," he said, determination laced every word he spoke.

Sarah's eyes softened, and she slowly walked towards him.

„You are tired. Not physically. Emotionally. Clark, you are strong enough to lift a train with your pinky finger, but you've never seen something like this. I can see it in your eyes. The guilt. The regret. You think you weren't good enough. Strong enough. You feel like it's your fault. I'm here to tell you that it wasn't. You did everything you could, as did the rest of the heroes.

Nobody could've expected this. Please, Clark. Go home. Take a shower. Get some sleep. Eat. You can come here tomorrow. Just.. no more today," she spoke softly. Softer than usual.

And she was right. He felt guilty. He felt like it was all his fault. Like he was late. Tears pickled in the corners of his eyes for the fifth time today. He let them fall freely.

„Let's go home," she said yet again, stepping closer to him, wrapping her arms around him, burying her hear in his chest, her ear right next to the crest he wore on his chest.

The symbol of hope.

He wrapped his arms around her, finally, and floated up into the sky.

„Will you stay with me tonight?" he asked her, his voice sounding so innocent, she couldn't say no even if she wanted to.

„Of course I will, Clark," she said.

* * *

10 minutes later, they stood in front of the Kent house, Clark still clad in his supersuit. Sarah took out her phone and quickly texted aunt Frank and uncle Ria, telling them that she was spending night at the Kents'.

Clark and Sarah made their way to the porch and opened the door.

„Ma? Pa?" he called out.

A few seconds later, both of Clark's parents appeared in front of them, apparently coming from the living room.

Martha took one glance at Clark, his bloody suit, his tear-stained cheeks, and the look in his eyes. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she immediately hugged him.

Jonathan noticed Sarah, who looked pretty much same as Clark, minus the bloody supersuit part. He hugged her, too.

When they finally broke apart, Clark asked his parents if it's okay for Sarah to stay the night. Both of his parents looked at his eyes, and they nodded without words. They understood.

* * *

After having some well-deserved dinner, according to his parents, and Clark's shortened version of today's events, Sarah went to take a shower, while Clark fetched her some of his clothes. Granted, it would be big on her, but that didn't matter right now.

Sarah stepped out of the shower, and Clark gave her the clothes. She looked up at him and smiled, before caressing his cheek gently. There was no need for words.

Clark noticed that he was still in his suit. Sarah looked at him a little questioningly, but she knew what he was going to do. He showed her the suit's functions in the fortress a little while ago.

Clark put his hand on the symbol of the House of El under a certain angle. The suit recognized his fingerprints, because right after that, the yellow part of the shield started to glow, and the suit seemed to disintegrate, but in fact, the nanotechnology, which the suit was made out of, just transported itself into the shield of the House of El. The cape then fell down on the floor.

Clark picked it up, and along with the shield, he placed it on his nightstand. He would clean the suit later. Right now, he needed to clear himself.

In the shower, Clark thought about everything that happened today. The gas. The skyscraper. The fighting. The dead. Wonder Woman's words. LexCorp building.

Why would it be there? Why LexCorp? And why would someone leak a gas like this in the first place?

What kind of sick person would to this? Who would do something like this with clear conscience?

Clark shook his head. He'd think about this later, when he had the time.

Tomorrow was Saturday. He planned to spend the weekend with Sarah, but his plans changed. He would help out in every way he could.

* * *

After his shower, Clark dressed himself in a pair of boxers and pajama pants. He made his way over to his room, knocking before coming in, for Sarah was there and he wanted to make sure that she was decent.

„Come in," she said.

He opened the door, and saw her lying on his bed in the clothes he gave her.

It wasn't anything special, just a pair of sweatpants and a soft, worn out shirt. She, apparently, noticed his shirtless figure, and checked him up and down, before nodding approvingly. Clark had to chuckle at that.

He was glad for that. Sarah would always make him laugh, even in times such as these. That's why he loved her. And he would tell her soon. But now is not the time.

He checked the alarm on his nightstand. 10:30 PM.

„Is it really that late? How long was I in the shower?" he asked her, surprise clearly in his voice.

„Almost 40 minutes," she answered.

„Wow."

Yeah, his showers usually took no longer than five minutes, sometimes even less, since he could barely feel the hot water anymore. Yeah. Barely. More like, not at all.

She made some space for him on his bed, and he laid down next to her. She immediately cuddled close to him, her head resting on the crook of his next, her hand on his ribs.

He, in response, immediately wrapped his arms around her, and held her close. He left his senses overwhelm him with her. Her scent. Her touch. Her breathing. Her heartbeat. Her.

„You know, when I can't sleep, I listen to your heartbeat," he said after a few minutes of silence.

She chuckled at that. Then, when he didn't say anything, she lifted her head up and looked into his eyes. „Wait, seriously?"

He just nodded solemnly. Her head came into its previous position, in the crook of his next.

„Everyone's heartbeat is individual. Every person's heartbeat has a different pattern. I memorized Ma's, Pa's, and now.. yours. I used to listen to Ma's heartbeat when I was younger, it calmed me. Soothed me. Lulled me to sleep. The same thing happens when I listen to yours," he said.

„You can hear my heartbeat all the miles from here to my house?" she asked him, disbelievingly.

He just nodded, and he knew she felt it.

„Wow. That's both amazing and sweet. And a little creepy, mostly sweet," she said, and Clark gave out a laugh.

Sarah loved the sound of his laugh. He should laugh more.

She lifted her head up again, gave him a quick peck on the lips, and then lowered it down again.

„What was that for?" he asked, the smile in his voice could be heard even if you're deaf.

„For you being you," she whispered, knowing very well that he heard her. „Good night, my superman."

„Good night," he said.

Within minutes, both of them were asleep, tangled in each other, heartbeats in sync.

* * *

It was 9:00 AM when Martha decided to wake the lovebirds up. She knew Clark would want to help out as soon as much as he could in Metropolis. She gently opened the door to his room, and the sight that greeted her made her smile.

There, on his bed, lay Sarah and Clark, cuddled close together, both sleeping soundly, without a blanket of a comforter. She guessed that it was because of Clark's body heat. Both she and Jonathan noticed when he was younger, that Clark was warmer than an average human.

When he explained them how his powers worked, she understood the reason for his higher body temperature immediately.

Sarah, as if sensing another presence in the room, slowly opened her eyes and looked at Martha, who was standing next to the door, leaning on the door frame.

She gave her a sleepy smile. „Morning, Martha."

Martha smiled at the cute girl who stole the heart of her little boy. „Morning, Sarah. Would you wake Clark up? The breakfast is ready, and we both know that with his stubbornness, he will want to go to Metropolis as soon as he can," she said.

Truth be told, both Martha and Jonathan woke up at 6:00 AM precisely, as usual, and both of them already had breakfast, but they decided that after Clark's actions yesterday, and Sarah's help, they both deserved some sleep.

„Alright. We'll be there in a minute."

With that, and a one last smile, Martha left.

* * *

Sarah kept her promise, and a few minutes later, both of them were sitting in a kitchen, Clark finally wearing a t-shirt and no longer distracting Sarah. Seriously, having abs like these should be a crime.

After breakfast, which consisted of pancakes and orange juice, Clark put on the suit once again.

He now stood in the hallway, Sarah dressed in her clothes from the night before, albeit clean (credit to Martha, who said she was bored while they were asleep), along with Jonathan and Martha.

„Just.. don't overwork yourself, okay, sweetheart?" asked Martha gently, though it sounded more like an order than a question.

„Yes, Ma. See you later," said Clark.

He gave Sarah a quick peck on the lips, before opening the door and slowly lifting himself up in the air.

„Son?" asked Jonathan.

Clark looked at him with a questioning look.

„I'm proud you," smiled Jonathan.

Clark just grinned. „Thanks, Pa."

With that, Clark pushed himself into the air, faster and faster, until he broke the sound barrier, creating a thunderous crack.

Both Jonathan and Martha jumped a little at the sound.

„I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this," muttered Martha under her breath. Both Sarah and Jonathan heard her, and all three of them chuckled a little.

* * *

10 hours later, Clark found what he hoped was the last body. A girl. No older than sixteen. He was just a year older than her.

Clark shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

„Kal."

Clark looked around just to meet face to face with the founding members of the Justice League.

„Yes?"

They looked at him, and Wonder Woman looked at the girl in his arms. Clark gently put her on the ground, gently closing her lifeless eyes. Clark's blue eyes brimmed with tears. A few of them fell, soaking the girl's shirt. He wiped them away with the back of his hand.

He stood up at looked at the League.

„Yes?" he said, stronger this time. Harder.

„We would like you to come with us, just to ask you some questions," said Batman, his voice a little more gentle than usual. Clark didn't notice it, for he never worked with Batman before, but the rest of the League did. And they knew why.

Kal was too young, too innocent, but he had the power to beat them all.

Clark looked at them, his gaze moved from warm to cold and calculating, as if assessing them, which was precisely what he was doing.

„Why?" he asked.

„We want to know the reason you're here," said Batman.

„You already know why I'm here. I told you that. I'm here to help," said Clark, looking at Batman, not averting his eyes from him.

Nobody matched Batman's gaze before. He did.

„Still."

Sensing that they wouldn't leave him alone, Clark just nodded. He knew something like this would come. He just didn't expect it to come so soon.

He followed them to the outskirts of Metropolis, where, apparently, one of the many teleporters resided.

Upon their arrival, Clark checked the teleporter with his x-ray vision. The teleporter was designed for metahumans and humans only. It wouldn't work on him.

„It won't work on me. It's created specifically for humans and metahumans," said Clark.

„Yes, it is, why shouldn't it work on you?" asked Wonder Woman, her glance questioning and a little suspicious. She wasn't neither human nor a metahuman. She was a demigoddess. But it worked on her nonetheless – her D.N.A., while divine, was still human for the most part.

 _Okay, here it comes,_ thought Clark.

„Because I'm not human."

Everyone looked surprised, except for Batman. He expected something like this. No one with this much power would be a metahuman.

„However, I can fly up there. Watchtower does have a landing bay or a hatch door somewhere, right?"

Batman just nodded, as did Wonder Woman.

„Good. See you in a few."

* * *

Clark flew into outer space only once – when he learned how to fly. And even then, it was just lower orbit.

Watchtower, the state-of-the-art space station, was orbiting Earth about 22,500 miles above said planet.

Apparently, the Justice League saw him coming, and opened one of the landing bays for the Javelin. At least Clark thinks that's what the ship is called. That's what they said in the news.

* * *

A few minutes later, Clark was standing in front of the board, as they called themselves. It consisting of Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, Black Canary, Green Arrow and Zatanna.

Clark didn't even know Batman was a member of the Justice League until he saw him in Metropolis. The news didn't say anything about him being a member.

„Now, I know you have a lot of questions, so.. go ahead. Ask," said Clark.

Batman was the first to ask.

„Who are you? What's your name? How many powers do you have? What is the source of your powers? You said you are an alien, why are you here? What are your intentions?"

Clark looked at Batman. „Wow, I expected a lot of questions, but I didn't expect to be bombarded. Alright, to answer your questions. My name's Kal-El. This is my birthname. There's no way I'm giving you my Earth name, sorry. I have a lot of powers. I don't know if I should tell you the source of my powers, but I guess I can trust you. My body is able to absorb solar energy from Earth's sun, which, in turn, fuels my powers.

I'm an alien, that's true. My birth planet, Krypton, exploded when I was just a baby. My parents sent me here so that I could live. I've been living on Earth my whole life, I remember Krypton only barely. I consider myself an earthling, so you don't have to worry about me betraying the humankind like in the movies. Not all aliens are like that.

I've never abducted anyone, just to let you know."

The members chuckled at that, and even Batman's lips curved upwards the tiniest bit.

„And I was raised by the principal that when I have the power to help others, I should do it. I have these powers, therefore I have the responsibility to use them not for my own personal gain, but to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.

Any more questions?"

The Flash piped up. „Yeah, a few. Why did you choose the red/blue/yellow color scheme?"

He sounded young. Clark could find out his identity in the blink of an eye, just like with Batman and Green Arrow.

Clark chuckled at that. „The blue is for Earth, the yellow if for Earth's yellow sun, and the red is for Krypton's red sun, Rao."

„You know the sun is actually white, right?" said Flash.

„Yes, I know that, but from Earth, it looks white, because the atmosphere filters it this way."

„You said something about a red sun. Is this why your body is able to absorb the solar energy of our sun?" asked Cyborg.

Clark looked at him. „Hello, Cyborg, nice to see you again," said Clark with a teasing smile. „Yes, it's because of that. Kryptonians developed on a planet much bigger than Earth, in much harsher environment under a giant red star. That's why my body is physically more efficient, denser, and so on."

Batman seemed to take notes of this, Clark noticed.

 _Guess the man isn't very trusting, huh?_

„How old are you?" asked Wonder Woman.

„Seventeen," he answered immediately, and he knew that was the wrong answer.

All of the heads snapped up at him, they looked gaped at him. They expected him to be at least eighteen.

„So, you're telling me, that you are able to hold a skyscraper weighing more than 140 000 tons with your bare hands and you're not even eighteen?" asked Cyborg, disbelief etched upon his face.

Clark just shrugged. „I'm stronger than I looked. And I drink a lot of milk."

„Just how strong are you?" asked Aquaman. Aquaman was one of the strongest beings of the planet, able to lift up to 400 tons at his peak.

„I don't know. My strength seems to grow the longer I am absorbing ‚yellow' sunlight," said Clark.

Batman continued to take notes of this. The man was dangerous. Very dangerous. Yet.. he was so young. He looked innocent. But he knew that looks were deceiving. He didn't trust him. Not yet.

„Any more questions?" asked Clark.

„Yeah.. two. 1) What should we, and the public, call you? You need a moniker. 2) What does the S on your chest mean? And finally, 3) Would you like to join the Justice League?" asked Wonder Woman.

Clark's eyes widened in surprise, as did Aquaman's, Batman's and Zatanna's, who was quiet the whole time, as were Black Canary and Green Arrow.

„I-I don't know. I never thought about it that much, actually. I knew I had to reveal myself to the world someday, I just didn't know it would be so soon. I don't know if I'm good enough to be in the Justice League. I may be strong, but I am still inexperienced," Clark managed to choke out eventually.

„That's exactly why you should join us. You are inexperienced, but you are extremely powerful. You're most likely the most powerful being in the world, but you still need training," said Black Canary. Clark smiled at her.

„I guess you have a point, Black Canary. Okay, then, I guess I will join, if it's not problem for you," he said.

All of them nodded, except for Batman. Wonder Woman looked at him pointedly. He mumbled something, which made Clark smile, because he heard it, and nodded reluctantly. Clark could tell precisely what he said, but he decided to leave it for now.

„Now, what does the S mean?" asked Zatanna with a friendly smile. Zatanna had to say, for a seventeen year old, he was extremely handsome.

Tall, jet-black hair, inhumanly blue eyes, high cheekbones, jaw able to cut glass, a body that would put Adonis to shame. Damn.

„It's not an S. It was a crest of my family. The House of El. It means hope in Kryptonese," said Clark.

„Alright, I have one more question," said Zatanna, „are you single?"

Clark's eyes widened again at her not-so-subtle suggestion, and he blushed.

Zatanna, while a little older than him, at 24 years old, was very attractive, with her onyx hair, blue eyes and a figure no woman would be ashamed of, he already had the girl of his dreams.

„Sorry, taken."

„Shame," she said with a wink.

Batman glared at Zatanna, giving her a silent message to behave.

„I have a few more questions for you, but I think that's enough for now, Kal," said Batman.

„And your moniker?" asked Green Arrow, who was currently playing with one of his arrows.

Clark thought about it.

„ _Good night, my superman."_

Suddenly, he smiled.

He knew exactly what his moniker will be.

And it even fit the symbol of the House of El. It looked like an S, anyway.

* * *

 **Let me know your thoughts, please, and leave a review, it would mean a lot to me:)**

 **See you around.**


	28. Chapter 28 - Superman

**Well, thank you for all of your reviews, I really appreciate them. I don't know what's going on with me, but I have this drive, and I just want to write this story. I have big plans on it and I'm really excited, so that's probably it.**

 **This is probably the longest chapter yet. Wow. That's awesome. I'm outdoing myself :D**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman, unfortunately.**

* * *

Chapter 28 - Superman

The rest of the weekend passed as a blur. For Clark, at least. He was sure he hadn't slept in more than 48 hours, but he couldn't care less. There weren't any more people alive to be found, but that didn't mean that his job was over.

The families of the dead needed closure, and Clark sure as hell would give it to them, even if he had to be up for a week straight.

He's never pushed himself that much before – no sleep, no food, no water, no rest. Just job. And sunlight. With the occasional help of the other Justice League members.

The Justice League board decided that they would announce Clark, or rather, Superman, as the newest member of the team. But first, Clark had to reveal himself to the world, in more ways than just one.

Aquaman suggested an interview.

But with whom?

He needed someone who wouldn't take his words out of context, as well as send the message he needed to send to the people of Metropolis, and with that, the world.

An idea struck him. He knew exactly who he would give the interview to.

With that, he allowed himself a small smile. That smile quickly vanished, though, as he recovered yet another dead body. A young male, approximately in his early to mid-twenties.

 _Why did we have to pay a price so big?_ Clark thought to himself.

Sarah was really worried, even though she knew there was no reason to be. Okay, well, maybe there was – she hasn't heard from Clark since Saturday morning, and it was now Sunday evening. She saw the news, she saw him working on recovering the bodies, as well as helping with the repairs of everything that needed to be repaired.

She knew dating a superhero would be hard. A powerful superhero at that. Only now has she realized just how hard it's going to be. He will be torn between serving the people, and between spending time with her.

She didn't mind it, though. She knew he had the obligation to help. And she also knew how much he needed her support. Friday evening was a good example of that. She knew it would be hard, him seeing so much evil in this world. She saw the evil in this world. And she wished she could protect him from it all, even though she knew she couldn't.

With that thought, she quickly texted him, asking him if he was alright, and that he needs to rest at least a little bit. She didn't know if he had his phone on him, but she hoped he did. After all, he does have a belt on that supersuit of his.

Clark received the message from Sarah. And she was right, he had the phone in his belt. He checked the message.

 _Clark, I saw the news. You've been working nonstop for almost two days. You need to rest. And eat. I don't give a crap if the sunlight nourishes you, you need to eat. So, get your ass over here before I come to Metropolis and personally take you home._

Clark chuckled at the message. A few seconds later, his phone buzzed again, with yet another message from Sarah.

 _Sorry about that, I'm just worried about you._

He knew that. He understood that. Quickly checking the time on his phone, he saw it was 8:00 PM already. He needed to go home, take a shower, write the interview and get at least a few hours of decent sleep, even though he doubted he needed sleep anymore.

He delivered the last body to the paramedics, who took it from him. With a respectful nod, and one last look at the body, he rocketed up into the sky, creating a crack in the pavement in the process.

He was going to go home, but first, he needed to see her and assure her that everything was okay.

* * *

Sarah heard a gentle tap on her window, and as her bedroom was upstairs, she had an idea of what, or rather who, might be the source of the tapping.

Quickly getting out of bed, she didn't even register that she was only wearing a pair of short shorts and a tank top, she made her way over to the window and gently opened it. After she opened it, she saw her Kryptonian of a boyfriend in his full-suited glory.

The suit was dirty yet again, but she wasn't surprised. What surprised her more was the tired look in his eyes. She knew he wasn't tired physically. You couldn't tire him physically, which is something she will definitely enjoy in the future, but working 40+ hours and just recovering buried bodies.. well, let's just say that it probably wasn't the easiest job in the world.

„Clark, why are you here? You should go to sleep. You look tired," she said to him.

He got that little twinkle in his eye, and she knew he had something in mind. Before she was able to register anything, he swooped into her room, pulling her into his arms and giving her a passionate kiss. Not that she complained.

He tasted a little bit like ash, and she knew the reason why, but otherwise, he tasted just like he always did.

Great.

He licked her lips, and she parted them in response. Their tongues started fighting for dominance while Sarah's hands roamed over Clark's broad figure.

He broke the kiss a few seconds, minutes, maybe even hours later, she didn't know. She was completely dazed.

She looked at up at him, and he grinned at her. That warm, goofy smile of his. If she wasn't already in love with him, she was pretty sure she would fall for him right then and there.

„Yeah, exactly what I needed," he said, the smile still plastered across his face. Sarah vaguely noticed that she had smile like that on her face, too, but she didn't care at the moment.

She hugged him tightly, burying her face into his chest, while Clark's head laid on top of hers, his arms automatically circling around her small frame, hugging her even tighter to him.

She could stay like that forever, with him, and she was sure he felt like this, too.

„I could stay like that forever, you know that, but I have to go," he murmured quietly into her hair. She just nodded.

He needed to shower, he needed to sleep, and he needed to eat. There was a lot of things he needed at the moment, excluding her.

She reluctantly pulled away, and looked into his eyes. Inhumane blue met silvery blue once again. They leaned forward automatically, not breaking eye contact, and with one last kiss, he was gone.

„I'll see you tomorrow, okay? We'll watch _Lucifer_ , deal?" he asked, the smile in his voice evident.

„Deal," she said. „Good night, Clark."

„Good night."

And with that, he was gone.

„I need him to kiss me like that again," she mumbled to herself, knowing that Clark would hear her.

And he did. And he laughed.

* * *

„Ma, Pa, I'm home," yelled Clark as he stepped into the house. He was assaulted by his mother immediately.

„Clark, why didn't you call? Are you okay? Have you eaten anything?"

He chuckled. „Ma, I'm alright, I'm sorry. I guess I just got focused.. the bodies.. I memorized every one of them. Every face. Every name..." Clark didn't bother to finish the sentence. Suddenly, the air around them changed.

Martha just nodded at him, understandingly.

„Clark, I'm sure you heard it before, and I'm gonna tell you again. It was not your fault. You did everything you could. You revealed yourself to the world. You held up a skyscraper. You subdued Wonder Woman. You saved dozens of people with that alone. And don't get me started on how you found the pople in the rubble.

„You did your best. And we're proud of you. Stop blaming yourself, okay? It was not your fault."

Clark just nodded, and hugged her tightly. The hug from his Ma was different than a usual hug from Sarah, and yet they were the same. Comforting. Warm. Loving.

„You didn't answer my question," she said after a few minutes.

„No, I haven't eaten anything since Saturday morning," he chuckled.

He stopped laughing the moment she stepped away and looked at him. She was not amused. Not at all.

„Clark. Joseph. Kent. You get your bum into the kitchen this instant! I'm going to make you a big dinner, got it?" she yelled, though there was amusement in her eyes, for which Clark was grateful for.

„Yes, ma'am," he said with a mock salute.

He blurred into the kitchen and sat down. Martha rolled her eyes amusedly.

„Children," she muttered.

„I HEARD THAT," yelled Clark from the kitchen.

„Of course you did, honey, of course."

* * *

Perry was not amused. There was a new hero in the world, able to defeat Wonder Woman in combat, and yet.. none of his reporters knew anything about him.

The man himself helped with search and rescue, as well as with some repairs, and yet, no one managed to get a scoop?

Someone knocked on his door.

„Come in," he said.

He was surprised to see that the newest intern, Clark Kent, was the one to open the door.

„What do you need, Kent?" asked Perry gruffly.

„Uh, I think I got you a scoop. The new hero?" said Kent.

Perry's ears perked up at that.

„Come here," he said.

Clark made his way over to his desk and handed him a computer-written piece in the form of an interview.

Perry took it from him and started reading, his eyes growing wider and wider with each word. His jaw almost hit the floor when he read the word _alien_.

He looked up at Kent, who stood there, looking out of place, even in a button down with sleeves rolled up and black slacks.

He just shrugged. „I saw him helping with search and rescue, he seemed to have a break, so I approached him and asked if I could ask him so questions. He said that I might as well ask, since he knew that sooner or later, he would have to answer some questions," he said.

Perry thought about this and nodded. Something wasn't adding up, but he decided not to voice his suspicions. Yet.

„Kent, this is most likely the scoop of the century. An alien. Living among us. With the powers to dominate us all. I'm asking you again. Is this legit?"

Kent just nodded confidently.

„Good. OLSEN, GET YOUR BUTT IN HERE," he yelled.

A few seconds later, Jimmy Olsen came striding into his office, his signature camera hanging around his neck.

„Yes, chief?" he asked.

„Do you have any photos of the newest hero? The one wearing red and blue? S on his chest?" asked Perry.

Jimmy just nodded mutely and turned his camera on. After a few minutes of Jimmy's scrolling he gave Perry the camera, loaded with pictures of the hero.

„There are some pictures with him holding the skyscraper, but I also have one of him weeping next to the bodies downtown. It's really emotional," said Jimmy.

Perry scrolled through the pictures. He motioned for Jimmy to come to him. „I want you to use this one," he pointed at the picture of him holding a skyscraper with his bare hands, „and this one," he said after scrolling a few pictures to the right, and pointed at the one of Clark crying over the bodies.

„Alright, chief. To what article should I add it to?" asked Jimmy.

„The interview. Kent's got us gold. Alright, both of you, get out of my office," said Perry, although he was smiling.

Well, who wouldn't?

 _Batman. Probably,_ thought Clark to himself.

They both got out of the office, and Clark faintly heard Perry yelling at Jimmy not to call him chief.

Clark smiled to himself. This is going to be a good day.

He picked his phone out of his pocket and quickly texted Sarah.

 _You should buy tomorrow's issue of the Daily Planet, you'll be surprised at what you'll find there :)_

He quickly hit send and continued with his usual work of making coffee and copying documents. The only difference now was that beneath his clothes, the symbol of the House of El was plastered across his chest.

* * *

Clark knocked on the door of the Wilsons' house. He was wearing just a t-shirt with the text _It's LeviOsa, not LeviosA_ , and a pair of jeans. It was too hot, and he didn't want to stand out with his jacket, even though he could barely feel the weather.

He also had an apple pie in his hand, courtesy of Martha Kent.

The door opened, allowing him to see Sarah's uncle, Frank Wilson, who smiled at him warmly.

„Hello, Clark. To see Sarah, I presume?" he asked.

Clark nodded. „Hello, Mr. Wilson. Yeah, she's here, right?"

Frank chuckled. „Yeah, she is. She told me you'd be coming. And I told you countless of times, call me Frank," he said as he gestured for Clark to come in.

„Hello, Clark. How are you?" asked Sarah's aunt, Ria.

„Hey, Mrs. Wilson. I'm good. Uh, mom baked this pie. And, I, uh, helped. A little," he said sheepishly.

Ria stood up from her place on the couch and gave him a welcoming hug, which wasn't something extraordinary – she gave him a hug every time he came over. He didn't question it.

„I told you countless of times to call me Arianna or Ria, Clark. And thank you, that's kind of you," she said, as the took the pie from him.

Frank chuckled. „That's exactly what I told him 20 seconds ago."

* * *

After a small talk, which consisted of Ria and Frank asking how his internship is doing and why is he in Smallville when Metropolis is so far away, which Clark politely ignored, they told him that Sarah is in her room.

Clark excused himself and made his way upstairs to the room of his girlfriend. He gently knocked on the door.

„Come in," she said, her voice muffled by the door.

He opened the door, and he nearly choked on his own saliva when he saw her lying on her bad, wearing just a short pink shorts and a tank top.

She looked up at him, her expression concerned, and then, when she realized what happened, she started laughing.

Once Clark got his bearings, he smiled, too.

„Very funny," he said with a pout.

She stood up and came to him.

„Stop pouting, it makes me want to kiss it away," she said.

Clark's pout intensified. She knew exactly what he was doing, and she allowed it. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the lips, successfully kissing the pout away.

„Now, I believe I was promised a cuddling session with my boyfriend while watching _Lucifer_? I haven't seen the last.. hmm..," she pretended to think, her finger resting on her chin, „five episodes?"

Clark just chuckled and pulled her closer to him.

He leaned closer to her. „I'm here to fulfill the promise," he whispered into her ear, making her shudder.

Ten minutes later, they were lying on her bed, tangled in each other, Clark holding Sarah close, and together, they watched the TV show, with both of them laughing at something one of the characters did.

And for Clark, this was the ideal evening, the best he could wish for. With his girlfriend in his arms, both safe, both happy. Together.

They fell asleep like that a few hours later, and when Ria came to check in on them, she couldn't help but smile fondly at the pair.

When she came downstairs, she motioned for Frank to be quiet, for she didn't want to wake them.

„He's making her happy," Frank eventually whispered. Ria just nodded, with a big smile on her face.

„God knows she deserves to be happy, after everything she's been through. He's a good boy. I can see the way he looks at her when he thinks she's not looking. He's in love with her," she whispered.

„We didn't even see them together today, if you don't count them being asleep," whispered Frank.

Ria just smacked him upside the head gently, a smirk on her face. „I didn't mean just today, Frank."

„I know, I know, I was just kidding," he retorted.

Ria rolled her eyes. He wasn't kidding. She's been married to him for almost twenty years.

* * *

Sarah woke up to the sunlight hitting right into her face, making her squirm. She should've closed the curtains yesterday.

It was just then when she realized that she wasn't in the bed alone, and that a rather huge.. and muscular.. form was basically right under her.

She slowly opened her eyes, just to close them again when the sunlight hit her with full force. She gently opened them again, this time, her eyes adjusted, and she could finally look at Clark's sleeping form.

He looked so much younger when he was asleep. So innocent. And with the sunlight streaming into his face.. and arms.. it looked as if his skin glowed.

 _Well, it doesn't glow, if I want to go scientifically into it, his cells just absorb the sunlight directly,_ she thought. _Nice way to ruin the romantic moment, though. Good one, Wilson._

Clark, as if sensing someone was watching him, slowly opened his eyes, only to meet face to face with an angel.

„Am I in heaven?" he asked groggily.

Sarah giggled, which was so unlike her, but this boy, this man, made her do things which were not liker her at all, and yet, she knew, that deep down, that with him, she was her true self. Without the abuse. Without the pain.

„No, you aren't," she said, her voice gentle and soft, which, when talking to him, was usual. She had a soft spot for him. More than one.

He then smiled at her and pulled her into a kiss.

„I should probably go, don't want to be late to the planet," he said.

She checked to clock on her nightstand and saw that it was 7:45 AM.

„When is your shift starting?" she asked him.

„It's not a shift, per se, but 8:30, why?" he asked.

„Because it's 7:45 already."

Clark's eyes widened comically and she had to suppress a laugh. He untangled herself from her, albeit reluctantly, and stood up.

„Calm down, Clark. You have the time. You can fly several times the speed of sound, you'll be in Metropolis in less than a minute at full speed," she said.

Clark just nodded at her. „Yeah, I know, I just have to go home and change and have breakfast or else mom will kill me and..."

She cut him off by gripping him by the back of his neck and pulling him towards her, pulling his lips onto hers.

„You were rambling," she said after they broke the kiss.

„Yeah, yeah, I know. Alright, I'll see you later," he said. With one last kiss, he was out the door.

* * *

Clark sped down the stairs to the front door, only stopping when he heard someone clear their throat.

Clark stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. In front of him stood an amused looking Ria and Frank.

„Why don't you stay for breakfast, Clark?" Ria said.

„I'd love to, but I can't. I'm sorry, I have to go. Maybe next time, yeah?" he said. Frank obviously noticed that Clark was in a hurry, and nodded at him.

„Goodbye, Clark," he called after him.

„Bye!"

Ria and Frank just chuckled and made their way over to the kitchen table. They were joined by Sarah a few minutes later. She looked at them weirdly.

„What?" she asked.

* * *

Clark quickly went home, dressed, brushed his teeth, combed his hair (somewhat – he adapted messier hair for his Clark Kent Daily Planet Intern persona) and made his way into the kitchen, where both of his parents were. They were reading the newest issue of the Daily Planet, and when they heard him coming, both of them looked at him.

„What?" he asked.

Jonathan just gave him the newspaper. On the front page, in bold, black letters read, _SUPERMAN – THE NEWEST HERO. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW. IS HE FRIEND OR FOE?_

And underneath it all read, _Interview by: Clark Kent._

He looked up from the paper and looked at his parents, both of them looking surprisingly.. amused?

„Superman, Clark? Really?" asked Jonathan, who didn't bother to hide the amusement from his voice. He didn't need to. His grin would give him away, anyway.

„What? Sarah called me like that once. And the crest looks like an S.. a little. So, yeah. Superman. Kinda catchy if you ask me," said Clark.

Suddenly, Clark's phone beeped, notifying him of a new message.

He pulled the phone out of his pocket and looked at the message. The number was unknown.

 _Watchtower. 5:30 PM. Don't be late,_ Superman _._

Clark's eyes widened. How could they figure out his identity?

 _Well, the glasses aren't the best disguise, you know?_ he thought dryly.

„How did you do it, Clark?"

„Hm?" Clark looked up from the copy machine at an angry-looking Lois, who held, unsurprisingly, the newest print of the newspaper in her hands.

„How did you manage to interview him? No offense, Clark, I like you a lot, but you're no reporter. Why would he give you an interview?" she asked him.

Clark just chuckled. „I am very well aware of me not being a reporter, thank you for the reminder," he said, and her eyes softened the tiniest bit, „and as for your question, I saw him in the city, he had a break, so I decided to ask him some questions, which he answered. Now, anything else I can do for you?"

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and stormed off, giving him a little smile in the process, as if saying _I'm not angry at you anymore._

* * *

After Clark's shift ended, he took off into the sky. Now that the people of Metropolis, well, most of them, knew who Clark was, or rather, knew who _Superman_ was, he thought it would be a good idea to go to a little patrol.

It was 5:00 PM, so he thought he had the time. He'd make it into the Watchtower in less than 8 minutes even without the need to go at his fastest.

He heard a female scream not far away from him. He quickly flew into that direction in a red-and-blue blur. With his vision, he saw a pretty woman, no longer than twenty four, being assaulted by five men. Her clothes were ripped in many places, which made Clark's blood boil.

 _Rapists_ , thought Clark angrily.

He quickly began to descend in front of the terrified woman.

„Leave her alone," he said, his voice hard.

„Oh, yeah? And why would we do that, flyboy?" sneered one of the men.

 _Are they really as dumb as they look?_ thought Clark. One of the men tried to take a swing at him, which alone answered Clark's question.

He didn't even try to catch it. When the fist made contact with his nose, he didn't even feel it. The other one did, though. He cried out in agony. With a quick scan with his x-ray vision, Clark saw that he managed to break the bone.

Clark's eyes slowly started burning red.

„Now. Anyone else?" he asked, his voice threatening. Hard. Cold.

They scurried away immediately, but Clark memorized their faces. The moment he sees them again, he'll personally take them to the police station. Now, he had other matters to attend to.

He turned around and faced the woman. She had tears streaming down her face. She was in shock. Clark had limited experience with giving comfort – he only gave it once, to Sarah, when she told him about her parents. He decided to act on instinct.

He slowly pulled the cape out of his suit and gently wrapped her up in the soft, silky material.

„Hey, it's alright. You're safe. They're not going to hurt you again. What's your name?" he asked her.

The woman looked at him, her eyes terrified still, but she seemed to recognize him, and the tears finally stopped flowing down her face.

„S-Sandra," she managed to choke out.

„Okay, Sarah. I'm Superman. I'm going to get you to the police station, okay?" he said, trying to make his voice as soft as possible.

She nodded at him. He picked her up in his arms, and started hovering. He made sure not go to too fast.

* * *

When he finally reached the station with the woman in his arms, who was still wrapped in his cape, all of the officers stopped doing what they were doing and just looked at him.

„This woman is a victim of an attempted rape," he said, he spoke gently and quietly, but everyone heard him as if he was screaming right next to their ears.

A few seconds later, a detective stood up from his chair and made his way over to Clark.

„Detective Dan Turpin, Metropolis PD. Please, follow me," he said. Clark did as he was told, but first, he put Sandra down and told her to follow him. She stuck close to him, but followed him nonetheless.

He followed Detective Turpin into the interrogation room, where the said detective was already waiting for them with a sketch artist.

Clark gestured for the woman to sit down, and looked at the men in front of him.

„Can you tell me what happened, Ms.."

„Beauregard. Sandra Beauregard," she said, her voice much stronger than only moments before, in the alley.

„I was just walking home from work, when someone pulled me into an alley, causing me to fall. W-When I finally looked up, I saw five men with that.. hungry, predatory look in their eyes. I-I tried to.. to fight them, but I couldn't. They were too strong. When I thought that there was no way to escape, Superman showed up," she gestured to Clark. „He saved me."

She turned to look at him. „Thank you."

„It's the least I could do," he said to her and gave her a warm smile.

„Could you describe them?" asked Turpin gently. He obviously dealt with raping victims before, so he knew what to do.

„I-I don't remember their faces very well. They were all tall. Bulky, that's all I can remember," she said.

Clark decided to take his matter into his own hands. „I saw them all. I know how they look. May I?" he gestured to the notebook of the artist. The artist shrugged and handed it to him, along with a pencil.

Clark started drawing at super-speed, remembering the face of every one of the assailants. After a few minutes, he handed Turpin five finished sketches.

„One of them, this one," he gestured to the third sketch, „has a broken wrist and knuckles. He punched me. He failed. You should probably check the nearest hospitals," said Clark.

Turpin looked at him approvingly and nodded. After a few more details, Clark was ready to leave.

„Superman," said Sandra.

Clark looked at her, and she smiled at him and handed him his cape.

„I won't need this anymore. Thank you, Superman. You're my hero," she said, as she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. Clark blushed. He was already used to kissing Sarah, and receive kisses from Sarah, but from other women.. well, he'll probably never get used to that.

„I'm just doing my duty. Have a nice evening, Sandra. Good luck," he said.

He shook hands with the detective and left the station. He checked the time. 6:00 PM. He was late.

With that, he rocketed up into the sky, breaking the sound barrier several times.

* * *

„You're late," growled Batman at Clark.

„Sorry," he said, „got a little held up at the police station. Won't happen again. I hope."

„Why were you at a police station?" asked Wonder Woman curiously.

Superman's face darkened, and his eyes started slowly glowing red. „Five men tried to rape an innocent woman," he said, his voice hard.

Wonder Woman's face darkened as well. She hated rapists. If she could, she would castrate them all.

Batman didn't miss the look Batman gave him when his eyes started glowing red.

„Okay, I want to know, Batman. How did you figure out my identity?" asked Clark once he calmed down.

„A pair of glasses. Really? I just ran your face through the software," said Batman, and if it's possible, there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

„It works.. usually. Okay. Why am I here?" he asked.

„We'll have a press conference tomorrow about you joining the Justice League. 2 PM, Hall of Justice in Washington, D.C. Don't be late this time," said Black Canary, a hint of amusement in her eyes as well.

„And by the way. Superman? Really? Superman?" asked the Flash, trying to sound serious, but he was laughing.

„My girlfriend called me that once. I think it was fitting. I even have an S plastered across my chest," said Clark.

„Your girlfriend called you Superman, eh?" asked Green Arrow while he wiggled with his eyebrows.

Black Canary smacked him upside to head, muttering something about dating a man-child. Green Arrow just grinned cheekily in response.

„Here," she said, as she handed him a familiar piece of technology. A comm-link.

„Have it close by at all times, even at night. You don't know when there'll be something happening and when we'll need you," she said. Clark nodded.

„Good. Now, if that's all, you can all go," said Batman, as he stood up and left.

„What's the matter with him?" wondered Wonder Woman.

„He doesn't trust him yet. But I think there's something more to that. Superman said it himself. He's only seventeen. That's when he started to train to become Batman," said Black Canary quietly, although Clark heard her.

„Oh," was the only thing Wonder Woman could say.

Clark stood up and made his way over to the landing bay. Before he left the room, he turned around.

„And by the way, we haven't gone that far.. yet," he said to both Flash and Green Arrow. With one last wink, he left the room, leaving a gobsmacked Green Arrow and Flash in his wake.

„Yet.." muttered Flash.

This time, it was Wonder Woman who gave a smack to a man-child.

* * *

 **Okay, I hope you liked this chapter. We finally have SUPERMAN. And I know, this Superman is very young, but that was my plan all along. I want to have young Superman.**

 **If you noticed any grammar errors, wrong syntax in the sentence or something similar to this, please, let me know and I'll fix it.**

 **See you next time:)**


	29. Chapter 29 - Landing

**Hi. Sorry it took me this long to write another chapter. I'm sick. Again. It's pissing me off. I feel like shit. And I had a writer's block - well, _have_ is the better term.**

 **Sorry this chapter is short, I'll try to write a longer one next time.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman. Yet. Muhahaha.**

* * *

Chapter 29 - Landing

„So, how was the press conference?" asked Sarah, as she and Clark walked through Smallville, hand in hand.

He looked at her, a bit puzzled. „I thought you watched it on TV?" he asked.

„I did," she rolled her eyes, „but I want to know how _you_ thought it went. There were some.. good questions the reporters have asked you."

Clark started laughing, much to Sarah's enjoyment.

„Yeah, some of the questions were a bit.. personal. Like, what kind of reporter would ask me if I have a girlfriend?" he asked rhetorically.

Sarah smiled. „Yeah, your _no comment_ seemed to start some rumors. Some people say you are dating Zatanna, or even Wonder Woman."

Clark choked on his own spit, while Sarah started to laugh her ass off. She rubbed his back gently and waited patiently until he regained his bearings.

„W-What the hell?" he choked out, his eyes wide.

„I thought you had super-hearing, babe," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

Clark shook his head and gave her a grin, showing his pearly whites.

„I have, _babe_ ," he said, intentionally highliting the _babe_. „But I just... why does everyone think a superhero has to date a superhero? And why do they think I'm dating anyone in the first place? Granted, I am dating _someone,"_ he said while giving her a look, „but that doesn't mean they should pry into my personal life, does it?"

„Clark, the fact that you are the newest member of the League, and the fact that you are probably the most powerful superhero in the world, means that you are going to be under the microscope, not just by the government, but by ordinary people, too," she said, her voice getting a little softer with each word. „Besides, Superman is a celebrity now, just like the rest of the heroes."

Clark thought about it for a minute. She was right. As usual. He stopped walking, and at her questioning glance, he turned her around and brought his lips to hers, to which she responded almost immediately.

„PDA, guys!" someone yelled. They quickly broke apart from the surprise, and when they looked at the source of the yell, they weren't the least bit surprised when they saw Chloe Sullivan stroding towards them, along with Pete and Lana.

„Hey, guys," said Sarah, while Clark's cheeks reddened. When Sarah noticed it, she couldn't help but giggle.

The most powerful superhero in the world getting embarassed by being caught kissing his girlfriend in front of his friends.

„Hey, lovebirds," teased Lana, though her smile was genuine.

„Hey," said Clark after regaining his bearings, though his voice sounded a little higher than usual. „What are you guys doing here?"

„Ah, you know, the usual, taking a walk, gossiping – did you know Jodi Melville finally got herself a boyfriend? – and, of course, talking about the newest addition to the Justice League," said Chloe enthusiastically.

„Superman?" asked Sarah with a smile.

„Yep," answered Lana while giving Clark a pointed look. He just smiled innocently in response.

„Rumors are he is dating Zatanna," said Pete, and Clark's eyes widened yet again. Sarah barely held back a laugh.

 _Let this boy never change_ , she thought, while giving him a love-struck look. She prided herself in being strong and independent, but damn, this boy.. he broke through her walls in what.. a week, maybe? And she couldn't be happier for that.

They started walking together – Clark and Sarah hand in hand, Chloe to Clark's right and Pete and Lana to Sarah's left – and the conversation went from there.

Clark missed his friends.

„By the way, Clark, shouldn't you be in Metropolis? You know, the internship?" asked Chloe, as if realizing he wasn't supposed to be in Smallville in the first place.

„Uh, I got the weekend off," he said, while scratching the back of his neck.

„Clark.. it's Monday," she said.

„And Monday, too," Sarah added. For someone with super-speed and Kryptonian intellect, Clark was a very bad liar.

Clark just nodded.

They walked for a little while before they got to a shop with televisions behind the window – all of them were playing the same LIVE feed. The feed was the thing that caught Clark's attention.

„— _irbus A380, flight LH370 of Singapoure Airlines seemed to have trouble right after the take-off, and now it looks like its engines are damaged. There are currently more than 600 people on board. The plane is currently flying over the Pacific Ocean..."_

Clark didn't need to hear anything else. He looked down at Sarah, who seemed to realize what's going on. With a gentle nod, he turned around and looked at his friends.

„I forgot I left my, uh, phone at home. Be here in a sec," he said, before quickly pecking Sarah on the lips and running down the street.

Once he was out of sight, he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the crest of the House of El on his chest. He touched the symbol, and with that, the nanobots took over. Once he was fully suited, he took off into the skies with a mighty sonic boom.

* * *

„He's a terrible liar, isn't he?" asked Chloe. All of them, except for Sarah, whose eyes widened, nodded.

„Y-You know?" she asked disbelievingly.

They shrugged. „Of course we know. We saw his face on the news. We've known him since we were kids. Do you really think we won't recognize our friend just because he is wearing a blue suit and has a different hairstyle?" said Chloe.

„Why didn't you tell him something? Or gave him a hint?"

„Because we want him to trust us enough for him to tell us himself," said Pete with a gentle smile.

Sarah nodded, and with that, the conversation ended. Instead, they all looked at the televisions, waiting for the message that a certain alien hero appeared.

* * *

It took Clark a few minutes to locate the plane, as he only knew its estimated location. After finally finding it, Clark saw that the engines were on fire, and unless he helps them, the plane will come crashing into the ocean sooner or later.

With that in mind, Clark rocketed into the direction of the plane – he was still a few miles away.

When he reached the plane, he saw that all of the pilots had panicked looks on their faces, and he knew, in that moment, that there was nothing they could do.

The key word being _they._ Not _him_.

Clark flew over to the cockpit. When the pilots noticed him, their eyes widened. He gestured for them to turn off the engines. One of the pilots took out a piece of paper and wrote _Are you going to land us?_

Clark nodded. They nodded in response while saluting him. Clark gave them a thumbs-up.

Inside the cockpit, Captain Joshua Reynolds contacted the nearest airport, which is, coincidentally, Metropolis.

„This is Captain Joshua Reynolds of the Singapoure Airlines Flight LH370. Superman is going to land us at the Metropolis Airport. Please, be ready. Over," he said.

„ _Singapoure Airlines Flight LH370, did you just say Superman is going to land you? Over."_

„Yes, I did. Over."

„ _Very well, LH370. We're prepared for your arrival. Over."_

Clark flew under the plane, and took the entire weight of the plane on his shoulders. The plane wasn't that heavy, maybe 600 tons, but he also knew he had to be extremely careful, as there were many people inside.

Metropolis Airport was almost 400 miles away, and with the current speed of 600 mph, they were going to arrive at Metropolis Airport in about 40 minutes. He could live with that.

* * *

45 minutes later, Clark finally saw the outline of Metropolis Airport – he saw a clear runway, apparently for them, and a few emergency vehicles, such as ambulances, firetrucks and such. He also saw some reporters next to the emergency vehicles, but he couldn't care less at the moment.

Clark slowly started to descend, trying to be as gentle as possible. The pilots seemed to take a hint and deployed the landing gear. Slowly, and as gently as he possibly could, he managed to put the plane on the ground.

He x-rayed the plane and noticed that nothing else was damaged except for the engines, which meant that his job here was almost done.

Once the plane stopped, he checked if anyone was hurt. Fortunately, no one was.

„Superman, do you have the time to answer some of our questions?" he heard someone ask. The voice was very familiar. When he turned around, Clark knew exactly the reason why the voice sounded so familiar.

In front of him stood no other than the Daily Planet star reporter, Lois Lane.

„I'm sorry, Ms. Lane, but I do not have the time to answer any of your questions. Maybe some other time," said Clark as he started floating.

He gave everyone a warm smile and rocketed into the sky, into the direction of his hometown.

* * *

„Took you long enough, Clark. Couldn't find the phone?" asked Lana teasingly as Clark finally made his way over to them.

„I wasn't gone that long.. was I?" asked Clark. In fact, he knew exactly how long he was gone.

„Nope, just an hour. No biggie," said Sarah, her silvery-blue eyes alight with happiness. And a little mischief.

„Yeah, sorry about that," he said. Sarah pecked him on the cheek.

„It's alright," she said.

„Good. Now, shall we continue?"

„Lead the way," said Sarah, as she took a hold of his hand. „Or, you know what? I'll lead the way."

Clark rolled his eyes and gestured for the others to follow them. This is going to be an interesting day.

* * *

 **So, this is it.**

 **400 miles - 644 kilometers**

 **600 mph - 965 kmh**

 **See ya around:)**


	30. Chapter 30 - Injustice League

**Hi! I'm here with yet another chapter. This one is longer, as promised. I hope you'll like this one. I still feel like shit, but... :D**

 **By the way, this is the _30th_ chapter! We've come along a long way, and I want to thank you, my readers, for staying with me and supporting me along the way! You have no idea how much it means to me :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman. :C**

* * *

Chapter 30 - Injustice League

„What do you mean you can't find out anything about him?" growled Lex Luthor at his employee whose name he did not bother to learn.

„T-There is nothing to know about him, except for the facts he said d-during the i-interview he gave to. . . to the Daily Planet, s-sir," answered the employee, Robert, the fear in his voice evident.

Lex took a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself down.

„Ah, yes, the Daily Planet interview. Who did he give the interview to?" asked Lex, his voice sounding calm and collected. Maybe too calm. It gave Robert the chills.

Robert opened his briefcase and pulled out an old issue of the Daily Planet, which title read _SUPERMAN – THE NEWEST HERO. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW. IS HE FRIEND OR FOE?_ , and handed it to Lex.

Lex's eyes scanned the page when he noticed the name of the interviewer.

Clark Kent.

Why would Superman give an interview to a, basically, nobody? He was just an intern. Lex's eyes widened with realization.

Same height.

Same build.

Same hair.

Same eyes.

The only difference? A pair of glasses and a different hairstyle.

Lex smiled.

„You can go," said Lex to his employee.

Robert didn't need to be told twice, as he scurried away as fast as he could, closing the door behind him.

Lex sat down and opened a file on his computer. There, he located another file, with the name of one and only _Kent, Clark J._

„I was wrong," he mumbled, „he is not a metahuman. He is an alien."

He grinned.

„I'll find some use for this information in the future," he said. „Mercy!"

A few seconds later, the door to his office opened and the assistant in question came into the room.

„Yes, sir?"

„Project: IL."

Mercy nodded in understanding. „Yes, sir."

After she left, Lex grinned, his cold green eyes shining.

* * *

„Clark, would you stop floating outside the Watchtower and come in?" asked Dinah, also known as Black Canary, trying to sound stern, but the amusement in her voice betrayed her.

Clark was currently floating in outer space next to the Watchtower, absorbing sunlight and generally blocking out the sounds that attacked him pretty much 24/7. He usually goes to his fortress for that, but since he can fly up to the Watchtower basically any time he wants.. plus, his first monitor duty starts today.

It's been a few days since the press conference, and coincidentally, it's been a few days since some of the League members decided to reveal their identities to him – and Clark, in turn, revealed his.

Clark rolled his eyes good naturedly at Dinah and flew over to the opening hatch of the tower.

Once he was inside, he made his way over to the monitoring room, or the deck, as some of the members called it, where Dinah already waited for him.

„Any particular reason on why did I have to come here right at this moment?" asked Clark, a teasing smile on his face. He knew the exact reason he had to be there.

Dinah rolled her eyes. „Your monitor duty starts in 10 minutes. You'll be replacing Wonder Woman. I believe you know what do to during the duty," she said.

She started to walk away, not before patting his shoulder. Clark then turned around and called out to her.

„Dinah!"

She turned around and looked at him. „Yeah?"

„Congratulations," he said, while pointing at the ring she was wearing on her left ring finger.

She smiled at him. „Thank you, Clark."

He smiled at her in response. He made his way over to Wonder Woman, who seemed to be observing him.

„Hello, Diana," said Clark with a smile.

She gave him a small smile in response. „Hello, Kal," she said. „I believe you know what to do now?"

Clark smiled and nodded. He sat down on the nearest chair.

Even after he told her his human name, she still insisted on calling him Kal, which he found amusing.

He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't notice Diana leave the deck.

* * *

After the monitor duty, which went well, Clark flew over to his fortress, where he started with his new project – Kelex, a Kryptonian A.I. built by his father when he was Clark's age. It was a robot butler of sorts. Clark figured that since he doesn't visit his fortress that often, he could at least have someone, or something, to take care of it while he is away.

„ _Fallen angel, close your eeeeeyes, I won't let you faaaall toniiiiight,"_ he hummed.

After about two hours, he decided to take a quick break and check the time. It was the date that got his eyes widened.

July 25th.

 _The summer sure passes very quickly_ , he thought.

Sarah's birthday is in 6 days. And yes, she is older than him by a few months. And yes, she teases him about it all the time. She calls him her _bunny_ sometimes – a reference Clark doesn't get nor he wants to get.

Truth be told, he had a rough idea about the gift he'd give Sarah on her birthday. He didn't want to go to the nearest shop and buy some jewelry or something. No. He wanted to give her something meaningful.

An idea struck him. He grinned.

* * *

„You're late, Kent," mumbled Perry the next morning when Clark fetched him his coffee. Most of the interns didn't have to do this, but Perry figured that since Kent usually had his work done hours before the end of his shift, he could always do a little more work. Coffee fetching included.

„Sorry, Mr. White. I.. uh.. overslept," he said while scratching the back of his neck.

Perry rolled his eyes. _The kid is not a good liar,_ he thought.

„Let it not happen again. Now, get out of my office," said Perry. Clark scurried away, not before bumping into the door. Perry rolled his eyes again.

He then turned on the TV he had in his office and put on the news channel – there was footage of Superman helping with an Earthquake in China, aiding people and, according to some sources, holding tectonic plates together so that the earthquake wouldn't be as massive as it otherwise would've been.

The footage is apparently 20 minutes old. And Kent did smell of ash.

 _The kid has superspeed and yet he couldn't take at least a shower?_ thought Perry dryly. _How can he even keep his identity a secret? I saw right through him the moment he gave me interview. How can Lois_ not _see right through him?_

Perry sighed. Lois is an excellent reporter, but sometimes, even she can't see what's right in front of her.

Kent is the story of the century. But why would he ruin the kid's life? He's just trying to do something good. He is the most powerful being in the world. He could rule them all. And yet, this 17-year old farm boy from Kansas chooses to do the right thing and help those in need, something Perry can't help but admire him for.

And while Kent tries to do the right thing, Perry at least owes him _not_ to reveal him as the powerful alien hero. That's the least he could do.

Plus, the kid does have a knack for writing. And he can even spell – something which Lois, unfortunately, cannot do very well. He chuckled at that.

With that thought, Perry took a sip of his coffee.

„Reminder to myself: let Clark Kent do the coffee," he mumbled to himself, after taking another sip.

* * *

„You know, Clark, you could make a pretty good reporter one day," said Lois as she continued to write her article.

Clark looked up at her. „You think so?" he asked.

She looked at him, smiled gently, and nodded. „One day."

Clark smiled. „Thanks." He then proceeded to stand up and go for his usual coffee run.

„Oh, and by the way, there's only one P in _rape_."

She rolled her eyes at him. „Don't you have a coffee run to attend to, Smallville?"

He rolled his eyes at the nickname. „Yeah, yeah."

Suddenly, Clark's phone started to ring – Justin Bieber's _Baby_ rang through the speakers. Clark's face, along with his ears, burned with embarassment, while Lois was laughing her ass off.

He look at the ID and noticed it was Sarah.

„Seriously, babe? You had to change my ringtone? What are you, twelve?" he asked her after he picked up.

Once Lois stopped laughing, she couldn't help but notice the affection in his voice. Sure, he mentioned a girlfriend back in Smallville, a girl named Sandra or Savannah or something along the lines.

„I mean, I know you don't like him very much, but please, for the love of everything that's saint, would it kill you to change it to.. I don't know.. Nicki Minaj at least? That would be more bearable. . . No, I don't think JB can be classified as _the pillar of modern music_ , thank you very much. . . Would you please stop laughing? Yes, yes, I know. Okay. Yeah, everything's fine. The, ehm, team business is going fine."

 _Team business?_ thought Lois. She shrugged.

„Yeah, I'll be safe. Don't worry. Yeah, I'll see you soon. Bye," he hung up.

He still had that small smile on his lips.

„So, that was Savannah?" asked Lois after a few seconds.

Clark gave her a confused and dumbfunded look in response. She rolled her eyes.

„Your girlfriend, Smallville," she clarified.

His smile grew even wider. „Her name's Sarah, Lois. Seriously? Savannah? How did you even.. you know, I won't even ask. It's better this way."

Lois chuckled. „Tell me something about her, Smallville. You know how much I love to pry into my friends' personal lives."

„Friends, eh?"

She rolled her eyes again. „Yes, Clark, I consider you my friend, even though I'm like.. 10 years your senior. You're mature for your age. And pretty awesome, too. A bit of a dork you are, but that's nice."

„Lois, you're 24. I'm 17. You're 7 years older than me. Stop exaggerating."

„Smallville, don't make me roll my eyes again. Now, spill. Tell me about her."

So, he told her. How they met. When they started dating. What he loves about her. How smart she is. How beautiful she is. How selfless she is. How strong she is. How wonderful she is. And Lois' smile was getting wider and wider with each sentence.

„Smallville," she stopped his ranting, „you know I'm not a _shipper_ , I believe the term is, but. . . you're definitely in love," she said, her smile still pretty wide – she was pretty sure her grin matched his.

„Yeah, I guess. I wanted to tell her I love her a few times before, but it just.. it wasn't the right time."

She rolled her eyes. „Seriously, Kent, my eyes are suffering because of you – so many rolls already. There's never a right time. Jonathan told me he loved me after a steamy sex in my apartment."

„I didn't need to know that," she heard him mumble.

„Yes, you did. I needed to prove my point. We used to be friends with benefits. Now, we're in a stable relationship, because I realized that I loved him, too. There's never a right or a wrong time to tell the person you love that you really do love them. Got it?"

„Yes, ma'am," said Clark with a mock salute.

„Now, show me her picture," she looked at his expression, „and I know you have one, you dork, and then go on with your coffee run you were supposed to have," she checked her watch, „15 minutes ago."

This time, it was Clark who rolled his eyes. He took out his phone and scrolled through the gallery, before stopping on his favorite picture – it was of him and Sarah, she smiled at the camera while he was kissing her cheek.

He handed the phone to Lois.

„I'll be here in a few," he said.

After he left to do the run, Lois checked the photo closely. The girl ( _Sarah,_ Lois scolded herself) was very beautiful – silvery blue eyes, wavy, light brown hair, full lips, and a beautiful smile.

Even from the picture, she could see that the girl completely adored Clark, even if she wasn't looking at him. She also saw the strength in her. But the look in her eyes.. something told her the girl had been through a lot.

She just didn't know how right she was.

* * *

Clark heard people literally buzzing in the office.

„What's going on, Steve?" he asked.

The Sports reporter looked at him. „Some new supervillain group is fighting the Justice League in Gotham. It's. . . unbelievable."

Clark went over to the TV and his eyes widened at what he saw. Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg and Black Canary were fighting a group of what could be only described as supervillains. There were at least six of them. Even with Diana's help, the League was outnumbered.

Clark looked around – no one was paying him any attention. He stealthily (as much as he could) slipped away from the crowd watching the TVs and disappeared into the staircase. He didn't notice Perry White watching him with an approving expression on his face.

* * *

On the roof, Clark ripped open his shirt, revealing the crest of the House of El underneath. Once his suit started to materialize, he ditched his glasses.

With him now fully clothed in his suit, he took off into the air, flying into the direction of Gotham City, leaving a sonic boom in his wake.

* * *

„Where's Superman when you need him?" growled Batman as he missed yet another, what would surely be, a deadly hit from Bane.

It seemed Bane was even stronger than before – word on the street says that there's a new version of the Venom drug, making the user twice as strong.

„You called?"

Batman looked up to see Superman hovering in the air, obviously trying to assess the battle and where his assistence is needed.

„Yeah, I kind of hoped you'd hear that. Bane is yours," said Batman. Superman rolled his eyes good naturedly and gently landed on the pavement in front of Bane.

„Hello. You're Bane, correct?" asked Clark politely.

„They call you the Man of Steel. I can bend steel," Bane growled.

Clark looked Bane up and down. He was at least 7 feet tall, with a weird black and white mask on his face. At the back of the mask, a red tube was feeding him what looked like some kind of drug. With his vision powers, he was able to identify the drug as Venom.

„Good for you," said Clark eventually. „Batman, who are the others?"

„Cheetah, Solomon Grundy, Poison Ivy and Killer Croc. I believe you are familiar with Croc?" said Batman.

Truth be told, Clark was familiar with all of them. He read about them in the League's database.

Cheetah, also known as Barbara Ann Minerva, an enemy of Wonder Woman, half cursed/half blessed with the powers of the cheetah – a mortal enemy of man.

Solomon Grundy, a zombie, classified as metahuman, near invulnerability and superhuman strength.

Poison Ivy, also known as Doctor Pamela Lillian Isley, former botanist, capable of controlling all plants, as well as pheromones, making her a very dangerous metahuman.

And, at last, Killer Croc, who Clark already met and fought twice. In his own home. Superhuman strength, near invulnerability.

„Yes, I am," said Clark.

Clark actually forgot about Bane for a second, but when he felt the air shift around him a little, he looked just in time to see Bane's incoming fist aiming at his face. He caught the fist without any trouble.

Bane then tried to use his other fist to struck him. This time, Clark didn't stop him. Bane's arm broke on impact with Clark's nose.

„Man of Steel is a misnomer," said Clark as Bane growled in pain. With that, Clark flicked his finger at Bane's forehead, effectively knocking him out.

„I'll take it from here," said Batman. Clark nodded.

Clark then looked around, and noticed that the fight seemed to be on their side. Wonder Woman was handling Cheetah wihout any troubles, but it was Vic and Dinah Clark was worried about. Dinah was fighting Killer Croc, and seemed to have the upper hand, but Clark knew that in any moment, that could change. Luckily, Dinah knew when and how to use her Canary Cry, so he decided he shouldn't worry that much.

Clark then looked at Vic, who was fighting Grundy and Poison Ivy at once.

„Hey, C. You need a hand?" asked Clark as he punched Grundy in the face, sending him flying a good couple of feet.

„Hey, big blue. I can handle Ivy – I'm immune to her manipulating mumbo-jumbo. You can take Grundy if you want to," said Vic.

Clark nodded and walked over to Grundy, who gingerly stood up.

„Blue man hurt Grundy! Grundy not like blue man! Blue man die!" he yelled, and took another swing at Clark.

Clark decided to let his fist hit him, and was very surprised when he actually felt the hit. Though it didn't hurt much, almost not at all, he still felt it. And Grundy still hurt his hand.

„I felt it.. but how?" he asked himself.

„ _Grundy is a creature of magic,"_ said Batman through the comm.

„Magic, like. . . Zatanna?"

„ _Yes. I've suspected you may be. . . vulnerable to magic. Or, at least, as vulnerable as a normal human being. That doesn't seem to be the case. From my observation of the hit, it seems you are vulnerable to it, but not to human extent."_

„Thanks for clearing that up," said Clark, who only got a grunt in response to his thanks.

Clark sighed and assaulted Grundy with a few well-placed hits into his chest, stomach and face. When Grundy fell on the ground, Clark ripped a lamppost from the ground and proceeded to wrap it around Grundy, essentialy tying him up.

Cyborg then brought an unconscious Poison Ivy in his arms.

Clark looked over at Wonder Woman, who, besides the cuts on her arms and legs, seemed to be fine. She looked angry, though.

„She got away," she grumbled.

 _No wonder she's angry,_ Clark thought.

„A team-up? That's a first," pointed out Vic.

„I know. Bane said something about an.. Injustice League."

Clark's eyes widened a little. „Guys. . . where's Dinah?"

„I'm right here," Clark turned around and saw Dinah pulling an unconscious Killer Croc by the leg, his ears bleeding.

Clark flew over to her and picked Croc up like a rag doll. Dinah shot him a grateful smile.

„Thanks, Clark."

Clark smiled in return. „No problem."

He then put Croc's body down next to Poison Ivy.

„Croc looks exactly what I'd imagine would look like Grundy's and Ivy's lovechild," remarked Cyborg.

Clark looked at him. „So that's what's going on in that tin-head of yours."

Cyborg mumbled something about Clark being a fake friend, something which got Clark to chuckle.

„There is no way these people would be smart enough to have the idea of a team-up," remarked Batman.

The rest of the heroes looked at him.

„Are you suggesting that someone is behind this?" asked Dinah, pointing out the obvious.

Batman nodded.

„I do. Someone is pulling the strings. We have to find out _who_ and _why._ Kent, you should go back to the Planet, they'll be looking for you."

„You sure you don't want me to wait with you for the police?" asked Clark.

The only person Clark didn't know the identity of from the League was Batman. He wanted Batman to trust him, so he promised himself he wouldn't check his identity with his x-ray vision.

„No, we're good. You may go, Kal," said Diana.

Clark nodded and took off into the sky, leaving a sonic boom in his trail.

„I have a feeling that one day, he'll be the greatest of us all," said Diana quietly.

„Maybe. He has the potential to be. He just can't screw up along the way," said Batman.

Dinah rolled her eyes. „Everyone makes mistakes, Bruce. Even you do."

„I know. But I'm not Superman. Superman can't afford to make any mistakes. I make a mistake, it goes unnoticed. Superman makes a mistake, people will get scared."

„That's what we're here for, Bats," added Cyborg. „To help him reach his potential."

* * *

 **Alright, next chapter - Sarah's birthday! I know exactly what Clark is going to give her, but I want you to guess what it is - so, what do you think he should/will give her? :)**

 **Until the next chapter, which will probably be up in a few days, see ya! :)**


	31. Chapter 31 - The Sweet Eighteen

**Hey, guys! I'm here with yet another chapter. This chapter is Sarah-focused, so I hope you'll like it. It's her birthday, yay! Just by the way, it's July 31st in this chapter.**

 **Also, I still feel like shit, especially with the coughing, but it's better now. A lot. Which is sad, because I don' want to go to school and keep learning stuff I'm not interested in, but hey, that's life. :D**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman, but I do own Sarah Wilson, and that's a win on its own.**

* * *

Chapter 31 - The Sweet Eighteen

Sarah woke up to the smell of something delicious. Bakery style delicious – it made her mouth water a little.

Maybe a little more than a little.

She slowly opened her eyes, which felt heavy, and checked the clock on her nightstand – 9:30 AM. Huh. Usually she woke up around 9.

 _Guess I was really tired after yesterday,_ she thought.

She went to the gym yesterday after a rather long pause. It felt good – training, making her muscles strain. She ached all over, but it was the good kind of ache.

The smell, however, didn't go away. She then rolled on the other side of the bed and noticed the source of the smell, which made her heart flutter and her face broke into a smile.

There, right next to her bed, was a classic wooden tray, the kind you see in movies, where the man brings the woman breakfast into bed. On that tray were three croissants along with some jam and butter, her favorite orange juice, a Greece yogurt, a spoon for the yogurt, a knife, and, of course, a single blue iris and a note.

Sarah smiled at the flower. He knew she didn't like roses. And how did she figure out who it was from? Well, from who else?

Blue iris represented faith and hope. Something that represented both her, Clark, and their relationship. You can't have faith without hope, and you can't have hope without faith.

Then, she took the note and read it.

 _Didn't think I'd forget about today's date, did you, birthday girl?  
See you later tonight.  
Love, CK._

As Sarah's eyes scanned the little note in Clark's, admittedly beautiful, handwriting, the butterflies in her stomach were replaced by warm feeling in her whole body.

Clark Kent officialy got the title of The Best Boyfriend Of The Year – not that he wouldn't get it in the first place, the dork.

She still wondered how in the world she managed to find him. She hook her head a little, trying to collect her thoughts, and gently put the note down. She then took the iris and sniffed it. This particular type of flower comes from Europe, Asia, and Africa, and, knowing the dork of a boyfriend she has, he probably flew over there and got one just for the sake of it. She rolled her eyes with a smile.

She put the flower down and looked at the tray in front of her. Her stomach growled. She patted her tummy.

„Yeah, yeah, I know. Growing teenage girl and all that. Just hold on. You'll get your croissants," she said. She felt weird talking to her stomach.

Quickly shrugging the thought off, she digged into the food. She made a mental note to thank Clark later.

* * *

Aunt Ria and uncle Frank surprised her by making her yet another breakfast – not that she was complaining, she was pretty hungry after yesterday's workout, after which she didn't eat anything, just crawled into her bed and fell asleep – consisting of blueberry pancakes.

„Happy birthday, Sarah!" both of them said in unison. Sarah grinned at them, showing her pearly whites.

She went over to them and gave them a big hug. „Thank you, guys. You didn't have to."

„Yeah, we did," responded her uncle after she broke the hug.

„No, you didn't," she retorted.

Both of her guardians rolled their eyes. She could be very stubborn when she wanted to be.

„Alright, maybe we didn't, but we love you and you deserve it. Acceptable?" said her aunt after a few seconds.

Sarah rolled her eyes, but smiled gently nonetheless. „Yeah. And, for the record, I love you, too, guys. You're my family."

Both of them smiled at her softly, and pulled her into another hug. „And you remember that."

„Don't worry, I will."

„Full already?" asked Ria.

Sarah just exhaled deeply. „Not gonna eat for at least another 5 hours..."

She heard her uncle chuckle from the other side of the table. She stuck her tongue at him childishly. He rolled his eyes.

„Got any plans for today, hun?" he asked eventually.

Sarah thought about it. „No, not really. I'll go out with Clark tonight, but.. hm, maybe I'll call Lana and Chloe. I don't know yet. Why?"

„Oh, no reason," he answered. Sarah looked at him.

She saw there was something behind it, but decided not to press the issue.

„Alright, then."

Just then, her phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the ID.

„Hey, L. What's up?" she asked after she picked up.

„ _Hey, S. Nothing much, except it's my friend's birthday and she decided not to tell me. Otherwise, nothing extra."_

Sarah cringed. „Yeah, sorry about that. I actually forgot about it myself."

„ _Yeah, Clark told me you probably have. Anyway, we should celebrate. Go out. It's a sunny day, girl. And it's not too hot. We can bring Chloe along. Make it a girls'. . . uh. . . day out!"_

Sarah chuckled. „Yeah, sure. When?"

„ _Great! You've got half an hour."_ She then hung up.

Sarah's eyes widened. Half an hour? She checked the time. 10:30 AM.

„What's wrong?" asked Ria, protective mother mode activated.

Sarah shook her head and smiled at her aunt. „Nothing. Lana just told me I have 30 minutes to get ready, we're going out for my birthday."

Ria grinned. „Well? What are you waiting for? Go, girl!" she said as she ushered her into her room. Sarah laughed the whole way. Leave it to her aunt to make her day even better with her funny remarks.

* * *

Sarah sighed. She decided she'd wear classic denim shorts and her old faded Breaking Benjamin t-shirt. She let her wavy light brown hair go free after a little brush – she loved that about her hair, that no matter how bad it looked in the morning, after a few brushes, it looked amazing, no matter how long it was. And it was pratty long. She looked at her reflection in the mirror.

„Smokin'," she mumbled and then laughed at her own joke.

 _And that's why I have so many friends,_ she thought sarcastically.

* * *

„So, how does it feel to be eighteen, Ms. Wilson?" teased Chloe.

The three of them – Lana, Chloe and Sarah – were currently sitting in a random café in Smallville. Hey, it might be called Smallville, but it's still a –ville.

Sarah rolled her eyes. „Kinda good. I can finally have the tattoo I always wanted. Plus, I always made fun of Clark for me being older than him, but now, it'll feel even better."

The girls laughed. „You already called him your bunny, didn't you?" said Lana.

Sarah smiled slyly. „I'd be lying if I said that I haven't."

They burst into laughter again. Sarah didn't miss some of the boys on the other table checking them out, but she decided to ignore them.

„Sarah, you ever thought about what you're going to do? You know, after school?" asked Lana after a little talk.

„I always wanted to be a biologist. Bio-engineer, to be precise. I always loved Biology," she said without missing a beat. Both of her friends smiled at her.

„What about you?" she asked then.

„Probably journalism or something along the lines," said Chloe after a minute of thought. Sarah nodded, and they both looked at Lana expectantly.

„Fashion designer," she said. „What? I have dreams. You have dreams, too!"

She mock-pouted and crossed her arms over her chests. The girls just laughed, and a second later, Lana joined, too.

„Yeah, yeah, make fun of me," she said, after they stopped laughing. „Why wouldn't you?"

Sarah patted her shoulder. „Nah, it's alright. It's actually an achievable dream. I saw the way you dress, girl. You're smokin'."

The girls didn't catch the Mask reference. Sarah rolled her eyes.

„Seriously? The Mask? Jim Carrey? Cameron Diaz?"

At their dumbfunded looks, she just had to roll her eyes again. „Tomorrow. Movie night. My house. We're watching The Mask."

The girls grinned. Sarah had a suspicion that they both have seen the movie before. She smiled.

The conversation carried on from there. From Whitney, to Chloe's not-so-secret crush on Pete, through Clark to the Justice League.

„Aren't you a little worried?" asked Chloe.

„Worried about what?"

„You know.. Clark working with some of the heroines. Wonder Woman, Black Canary. _Zatanna_."

„Any particular reason why you put the extra pressure on Zatanna's name? And no, why should I be worried? Girls, you've both known Clark for much longer than I have. Do you really think he would cheat on me? Or anything like that? Because I don't think so," said Sarah calmly.

„That's true. Plus, you've got him wrapped around your finger. Didn't you say just a few minutes ago that he brought you breakfast from.. where was it? France _and_ Greece?"

Sarah blushed a little. „Yeah, I may have mentioned it."

„Yeah, you may have," said Lana with a sly grin.

Sarah rolled her eyes. Again.

They talked like that for what must have been hours. Sarah liked having friends who were actually girls. Don't take her wrong, Sarah's best friend was still Clark, no matter what, even if he was her boyfriend, but having girlfriends is really good, too. Clark just doesn't gossip the way girls do.

* * *

After checking the clock, they quickly paid the bill and made their way through the city. They decided to go a little shopping, and then, they'd probably go home. At least, that's what they said. Sarah saw something in their eyes. A sparkle of mischief. And she didn't like it.

So, they went shopping, but they didn't like anything the shops had to offer, and in turn, they came out of all the shops empty-handed.

„By the way, you mentioned a tattoo in the café," remarked Lana while they were walking on the sidewalk.

„Yeah?" asked Sarah cautiously. She knew some people didn't like tattoos, and she really hoped Lana wasn't one of them.

Lana's eyes sparkled as she grinned. „Tell me about it. Everything."

Sarah's eyes widened a little. „Uh, sure. I've had it in my mind for almost 2 years now. A latin quote, my favorite, actually. You may have heard it before. _Per aspera ad astra_ ," she said.

Chloe's eyes perked at that, while Lana's reaction was not having a reaction at all.

„Through the hardships to the stars?" translated Chloe, though it sounded as a question.

„Did you just translate it or memorized it?" asked Sarah.

„Memorized it. One of my favorite quotes, too. But why this one?"

 _Because it reminds me of what I've been through, and that I came out stronger than before. Because it reminds me that even when you feel like it's all worthless, and that it's too hard, there's always a light, a star, at the end of the way,_ she thought.

„It has a personal meaning to me. Long story. Maybe I'll tell you one day," she opted for this answer instead, and smiled teasingly.

„Where do you want it?" asked Lana then.

„Hm. I always thought my about the inside of my forearm. But now that I'm thinking about it, maybe on the side of my ribs? I don't know. I just know that I want it, sooner or later. By the way, even Clark doesn't know about this."

And it's true. He doesn't. She never told him that, and she still wonders why.

„When are you going to do it?"

„I don't know," she said truthfully.

„Let's do it now," suggested Lana.

Sarah's eyes widened. „WHAT?"

„You heard me, S. Let's do it now. Come on. There's a good tattoo artist in town. A friend of Whitney's. Makes the most beautiful tattoos I've ever seen, and since you only want a quote, I bet it's going to be quick and easy. Now, come on," she said as the dragged her by her hand.

„I don't know.."

„You said you were thinking about it for the past two years. Two years. That means you've put a lot of thought into it," she reasoned.

„That's true," said Sarah. She grinned. „Okay, let's do it!"

* * *

And, one and a half hour later, Sarah came out of the tattoo parlor, with her left forearm wrapped in a bandage, and a paper full of instructions on what to do and how to properly heal it. Sarah grinned. It was pretty painful, but she'd probably do it again. She didn't regret it.

The three of them decided to go to over to Sarah's house, as it was already 6 PM and watch the movie they planned to watch tomorrow, when they all felt a sudden _swoosh_ in the air.

„Excuse me, miss. I need you to come with me. Justice League matter," said the deep voice Sarah's grown to love behind her.

She grinned, as did Lana and Chloe. The trio turned around.

There, hovering a few inches off the ground, stood Clark, or rather, Superman, full-clad in his supersuit.

„Seriously, Clark?" asked Lana as she crossed her arms over her chest. „Show-offing much?"

Clark's eyes widened for a second, but then he just rolled them. His feet touched the ground. „How long have you known?"

„Since your face was plastered across every newspaper in the States. Seriously, Clark, how dumb do you think we all are? We've known you for years. By the way, Pete knows, too. And I have a hunch that Whitney knows as well," she said as she rolled her eyes, but smiled at him.

Clark just smiled. „Well, there's nothing I can do about it now, I guess, except trusting you, guys. You will keep it a secret, won't you? Please?"

He gave them his puppy dog look. Sarah was suddenly very glad that there weren't any people on the street. She couldn't imagine their reaction at seeing Superman giving a puppy look to three teenage girls in a small town in the middle of Kansas.

„Yeah, don't worry. Now, I believe you wanted to take our birthday girl away? For _League business_?" Lana made air quotes as she said the last two words, while she grinned.

Clark rolled his eyes. „Yes. Now, may I?"

Sarah laughed and nodded. „Yes, you may, Superdork:"

Clark laughed, whispered something into Chloe's ear, who grinned and nodded, and then pulled Sarah close to him. She felt the air around her shift, and when she looked around, she was at least two hundred feet in the air.

„Clark, where are we going?" she asked after a couple of minutes. He seemed to go very slowly. Much slower than usual, even when he was flying with her.

„You'll see. Just enjoy the view for now," he said eventually. Sarah did as she was told. And yeah, the view was magneficent.

The town looked amazing from up there, and the vast fields looked magneficent. The sun slowly falling into the horizon looked even better, and when she looked at Clark, he seemed to enjoy the sun, too, though for completely different reasons.

„Is that a tattoo I see on your forearm?" he asked lightly, but she heard the curiosity in his voice.

„Yeah, it is," she smiled, „I'll tell you about it later."

He nodded. „Alright."

* * *

A few minutes later, they started to descend, and Sarah's smile grew wider.

„You remember," she whispered quietly, knowing he'd hear her. He chuckled.

„Of course I did. Our first interview. The beginning of our relationship, at least, for me. I remember you telling me this is your favorite place in all of Smallville."

His feet touched the ground, and yet he didn't let her go.

„Well, it used to be," she said.

He looked at her questioningly. „Used to be?"

„Yeah. Now, you're my favorite place in all of Smallville," she said cheekily.

He looked at her for a couple of seconds with a quizzical expression on his face, before he started laughing his ass off. He had to wipe some tears from his eyes, and she just laughed along with him.

„Too corny even for you, Kent?" she asked amusedly.

„Maybe," he said after a few seconds.

He then finally let her go, and changed into his normal attire – a Ramones t-shirt, jeans, and a grey hoodie.

„When do you keep your normal clothes?" she asked him.

„The cape. It has this sort of big pocket or something. I just keep my clothes there."

„Oh," she said, „interesting."

„Yeah, interesting. But not as interesting as you," he said.

„Look who's corny now."

He rolled his eyes.

„Happy birthday," he said eventually, while looking into her eyes. She smiled at him, and he gently lowered his lips onto hers.

No matter how many times they kissed, Sarah's insides still turn into a pile of goo. After they broke apart, Clark smiled at her.

They both set on the swings.

„I know you're not into jewelry that much, but I wanted to give you, or rather, make you," he said, and her eyes widened a little, „something meaningful – something that would remind you of me, of our relationship, and something to give you hope. So, I made you this."

He then pulled a blue box with red ribbon out of his hoodie, and gave it to her.

Sarah took it from him gently and gave him a watery smile.

„Open it," he urged her, and she saw that hint of nervousness in his eyes, even though he tried to hide it.

So, she did as she was told. She gently untied the ribbon and opened the box. She covered her mouth with her hand.

She pulled it out of the box. It was a beautiful necklace, with a silver crest of the House of El attached on a silver chain. Sarah examined it closely, and noticed that the material, though looking like silver, was not silver at all. It felt different to the touch.

She looked at the crest, at the familiar S, and noticed something written in Kryptonese on the other side of it.

„It's beautiful, Clark. Thank you," she whispered. Clark smiled gently. „What's it say?"

She knew little Kryptonese – she finally learned the symbols, but the grammar and vocabulary was something she still couldn't get a grasp on. Even with her intelligence, Kryptonese was an extremely hard language to learn. Chinese Mandarin looked easy compared to that.

„It's in Kryptonese," he said, and Sarah nodded, indicating that she already figured out that part, „and it says _Don't give up hope._ The symbol of the House of El also means hope. Something every person needs. It's something I aspire to give people. And," he paused a little and looked down, „it's something you give me. Every time I see death, every time I see evil in the world, one look at you, at your eyes, at your smile.. and I'm full of it. Full of hope that there's still good in this world. So, yeah. I wanted to give you something meaningful."

When he finished, he looked up at her, his eyes.. unguarded. Childlike. Sarah smiled gently and slowly kissed him, pouring a lot of emotion into it.

„Thank you, Clark. It means so much to me. You have no idea just how much."

He smiled gently. „Want me to put it on for you?"

She nodded, gave him the necklace and pulled her hair out of the way. „By the way, what's it made of?"

Clark stood up from the swing and kneeled behind her. The swings were pretty low. Obviously.

„Kryptonian metal. Basically indestructible."

She smiled at that. „Are you expecting me to get into some trouble, Mr. Kent?"

„Not at all, Ms. Wilson," he answered, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

„There, done." He said after a few seconds. The metal felt cool on her skin. She liked it.

He smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. He kissed her shoulder, and she felt his lips even through her t-shirt. „Happy Birthday, Sarah."

She closed her eyes and leaned into him. „Thank you."

They were quiet for a few seconds, before Clark broke it. „Now, what about the tattoo?"

She laughed. „Per aspera ad astra," she whispered.

„Through the hardships to the stars," said Clark almost immediately.

Sarah hummed in confirmation. „You know Latin?"

„Yeah. Who doesn't?" he asked teasingly. She chuckled at that.

„Chloe doesn't."

„Which reminds me, Ms. Wilson, as much as I'd like to stay like that forever, we do have a party to attend."

Sarah's eyes snapped open. „What party?"

„Well, your birthday party. What other party did you have in mind?"

She rolled her eyes. Of course they'd make her a party. She should've guessed it.

„Plus, I can't wait to see Frank's reaction on your tattoo," he said. He leaned and whispered into her hear. „Priceless."

She punched his shoulder with her elbow. „Ow."

He rolled his eyes. „Seriously?"

„Didn't you mean.. _siriously_?"

He choked on his spit as he started laughing. „Really? Harry Potter puns? Now?"

At least someone got her puns. Well, as long as the only one to get her puns is this dork cuddling her from behind, she doesn't mind in the slightest if nobody else doesn't.

„By the way, thank you for the breakfast."

„Tasted good?"

„You bet."

„I'm glad."

„By the way, how did it feel breaking and entering into a teenager's apartment while she was sleeping in a pair of short shorts and a tank-top without a bra?" she teased.

She didn't have to turn around, she knew he saw as rad as a tomato.

„N-now. It's 7 already. Shouldn't we get going?" he stuttered a little.

She laughed at first, but then groaned and untangled herself from his embrace.

„Nah. Let them wait a little," said Sarah after she turned around and locked her lips with his.

Clark didn't have any complaints.

* * *

 **Alright, thanks for reading this chapter, I really appreciate it. Please, leave your review and tell me what you think about this chapter:)**

 **Until next time:)**


	32. Chapter 32 - Circe

**Hi, first of all, thank you for all of your reviews. I really appreciate them.**

 **Second of all, sorry it took me this long to update - I had a busy week. Plus, I finally started reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series - and Percabeth is life. Finished all 5 books in 4 days. Just started reading The Heroes of Olympus, and I gotta say, it's not so bad. Though I don't like Jason much. Alright, sorry, I got a little sidetracked :D**

 **Third of all (:D), I still feel like shit, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. School is taking its toll on me, and I'm just a freshman.. and I barely study. Ehm.**

 **By the way, we finally reached 80 000+ words. Damn.**

 **Anyway, here is the new chapter! :D**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman. Unfortunately.**

* * *

Chapter 32 - Circe

„Guardians, how do you propose we fix this problem?" asked Green Lantern of Sector 2814, Kyle Rayner.

Kyle stood in front of 5 Guardians of the Universe – an immortal race of super powerful beings, and the creators of the Green Lantern Corps – an intergalactic peacekeeping military force, powered by one of the most powerful weapons in the universe – the Green Lantern ring.

The Guardians started talking to each other calmly.

„Doomsday has already killed dozens of our most experienced Lanterns. Even if it's hard to admit, we need help. The beast is one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Even Darkseid prefers to stay out of its way," said Appa Ali Appsa.

There was a murmur of agreement from the other Lanterns.

„Indeed, Appa Ali Apsa. I agree. But who should we ask? Even the New Gods aren't powerful enough to defeat it. Their weapons would be effective at first, but the longer the fight, the tougher the beast gets," said Scar – a female Guardian whose name was derived from a burn scar running from the corner of her right temple down to her chin.

Kyle knew very well what was Scar talking about. Doomsday, a failed ancient (well, to Earth, anyway) Kryptonian experiment – its body is a defensive structure, capable of arming itself the more it's damaged. And it was damaged a lot.

Kyle suddenly remembered an article from the Daily Planet he read a few weeks ago, when he was still on Earth.

„There is a living Kryptonian on Earth."

The room got so quiet that, as you would say on Earth, you could hear a pin drop.

„A living Kryptonian? How is that possible?" exclaimed Ganthet, his voice full of surprise.

Ganthet was one of the more human-like Guardians – at least, personality wise.

„I don't know how. He revealed himself to the world two months ago, if I remember correctly. The public dubbed him Superman. I don't know how his powers work, but I know that he is very powerful," answered Kyle.

„Kryptonians evolved under a red supergiant known as Rao, and their species is almost as old as ours," mused Appa Ali Appsa.

„Earth orbits a G-type main sequence star, if I remember it correctly. Been a long time since high school," said Kyle, „it's also often referred to as a yellow dwarf."

Kyle could have sworn he heard a few sharp intakes of breath.

„What?" he asked.

It was Scar who answered him, much to his surprise.

„As mentioned earlier, Green Lantern of Sector 2814, Krypton orbited a red supergiant, which energy was very faint in comparison to the yellow dwarf of Earth. Kryptonians' DNA, molecular structure and density evolved under the red supergiant. It was speculated that were a Kryptonian be under a star younger than their own, their bodies would start absorbing its radiation and metabolize it – giving them abilities beyond anything we've ever seen."

Kyle's eyes widened a little after each word the Guardian said.

„Scar is indeed right, Kyle Rayner. Kryptonians were born through a Birthing Matrix, which would modify their DNA. A scientist from the House of El, Jor-El, speculated, that if a Kryptonian were to born by natural birth, it would be a next step in Kryptonian evolving. If the Kryptonian living on Earth was conceived naturally. . . he is exceptionally powerful," added Appa Ali Apsa.

„Exceptionally powerful?" asked Kyle.

„Darkseid level powerful, maybe even more, if he's been under the yellow dwarf for a long time," supplied Scar.

„How do you know so much about them? About Jor-El? About their history?" asked Kyle then. It's been bugging him for longer than he'd like to admit.

„We know of every old and every powerful race. Kryptonians were both. We developed almost side by side. Their scientific achievement was something unbelievable, even to us. They were on the verge of godhood," answered Ganthet.

„That is not the point, Ganthet. The Kryptonian is possibly our only chance in defeating Doomsday. We need to approach him. We shall send Kilowog, Kyle Rayner and Abin-Sur," decided Scar.

„Scar. . . do not forget that Abin Sur is no longer. He died while perfoming his duty. We shall send Hal Jordan," corrected Ganthet. There was sadness in his eyes, and Kyle knew why.

Abin Sur was one of the best Green Lanterns to ever exist. Powerful. Kind. Selfless. The epitome of a Green Lantern.

„Very well," said Scar. „You may go, Kyle Rayner. Bring the Kryptonian to Oa, where we'll discuss everything."

Kyle nodded. „Yes, ma'am."

He turned around and left.

 _The trip to Earth will take us at least a few days. Better find Hal now. He's ought to be here somewhere_ , he thought.

* * *

„Clark?"

„Hmm?"

„Is a single lump of abdominal muscle called an ab?"

Clark looked at Sarah, then, who was lying on top of him. His eyes were full of amusement. „What?"

„You heard. Is it called an ab? You know, since you have abs, and there are more than one, is a single lump of the muscle called an ab?"

Clark chuckled then. „How.. why.. what?"

Sarah suddenly had the urge to kiss his confused face. „Answer the question."

„Alright, alright," he said after a few seconds. „First, you gotta answer mine. How did that thought occur to you?"

She rolled her eyes. „Since my head was basically on your abs a few seconds ago," she said, „and don't think even for a second that I don't feel them – you could crack a wallnut between them – it kinda came into mind. You know how I am."

Clark's eyes shone with adoration now, though there was still a fair trace of amusement. She looked at them, and not for the first time, she marveled. His eyes were probably her favorite part of him – well, except for his mouth – they were inhumane shade of blue, and if you looked closely, you could see some freckles or another inhumane blue color, though a little bit darker.

His expression then turned into one of confusion. „What?" he asked.

Sarah chuckled a little. „Your eyes."

At his expression, she wanted to kiss him. And she did just that. His lips felt soft as always, and she nibbed on his lower lip for a second – she knew he loved it when she did that.

„What about my eyes?" he asked her then, though he was smiling. He knew she loved them.

„You already know, Kent. They are. . . beautiful. Otherworldly. That's the only word to describe them," she said.

„Well, I am an alien," he chuckled. She let out an unlady-like snort.

„Yeah, but they are incredible."

„My mother, Lara, had the same eyes," he said eventually, after a few seconds.

„Tell me about them. Your biological parents."

She didn't know why she said it, and regretted almost immediately after she did, but she knew she couldn't take it back.

The amusement in his eyes faltered, and it was replaced by pain. She knew very well, that even though he never knew Krypton, he still grieved. Even though he thought of Jonathan and Martha as his parents, she knew that he missed his biological parents every day. He didn't say it, but she could read him basically as good as he could read her.

„I-I'm sorry, Clark. I understand if you don't want to talk about it," she stammered a little.

He sighed. „No, no. It's.. okay, actually. I used to talk about them to Ma and Pa a lot. Their names were Lara Lor-Van and Jor-El. They.. they were good people," he said as she scooped up a little and laid her head on his chest. He immediately wrapped his arms around her.

„I used to have an A.I. of them. In the ship that brought. . . that brought me to Earth. For a short time, I had both sets of my parents with me – guiding me, helping me. I felt whole, you know?" he said, and she noticed that he held her a little tighter than before. „They not only helped me with my powers and-and taught me basically everything about my Kryptonian heritage. . . they told me stories. I know, weird, right? A.I.'s telling stories. They told me how they met."

She looked up at him them, and saw that his eyes were full of unshed tears. Clark was the strongest person he knew, but she knew that he took deaths harder than anyone else. She saw how he dealt with the deaths after the Takeover. She promised herself that she would try to protect him from it all, even though she knew she couldn't.

„You don't have to continue, Clark," she said softly. He blinked a few times, and one of the tears escaped. She wiped it away with her thumb.

He closed his eyes. „I-I know. I don't know, it used to be much easier to talk about them. I think it was because I still had the A.I.'s, and it felt that I had them with me. But now. . . only now do I realize that they are truly gone. And that I'll probably never see them again."

This time, it was her who held him a little tighter. „B-Both of them were scientists. The best on the planet," there was a hint of pride in his voice, which made her smile. Now she knew the reason he was so intelligent. „You know how I told you that Kryptonians were born through the Birthing Matrix?"

She nodded – she did remember that.

„They believed that the Matrix held them back. A natural evolution. They believed that if a Kryptonian were to born naturally, the individual would be smarter and stronger than Kryptonians born in the Birthing Matrix," he said.

She couldn't help but be curious. Sarah was in Clark's fortress a few times, where she started learning Kryptonese, but she didn't know much about Krypton itself. „Did it work?"

She could hear the smile in his voice. „Yeah, it did."

It dawned on her not even a second later. Her head whipped up. And she was right – he had a smile on his face. Though it was a sad smile. The kind of smile you have when you try to be reassuring even though you know you can't help anyone.

„You were born naturally, weren't you?" she asked.

His eyes, while still full of sadness, now also twinkled with barely contained excitement she loved – he was going to talk scientific.

„I don't know if I told you, but Kryptonians had 5 guilds – The Warrior Guild, The Thinker Guild, The Laborer Guild, The Artisan Guild and The Mediator Guild," he said. She urged him to continue, as she watched that the sadness was slowly being replaced by child-like excitement and pride.

„The parents would put their DNA into the Matrix, where the Matrix would merge it. The Matrix would then scan the unborn's DNA and automatically asign the unborn into one of the Guilds based on his or her genetics. It would then modify the DNA so that the genetics would fit exactly into the guild," he said, and she noted that his grip on her loosened a little bit. He was calm again. Well, not calm. Excited.

„As I told you before, my parents believed that the Matrix held something back – a natural evolution, so to speak. Natural birth, however, was strictly forbidden, but they knew Krypton was already doomed. And they always wanted to have a child. And so, here I am. And they were right. It worked," he said.

„How different are you from an average Kryptonian?" she asked as she felt her own excitement building within her.

„Well, I would say that I am alive, but that would be too dark," he said, „I am smarter, for example. My memory is better. Usually, Kryptonians had eidetic memory, but not as good as mine. I can recall anything. I can tell you what I was doing on Septemeber 7th 2007 at 3:40 PM, for example."

„What were you doing on March 7th 2007 at 3:40 PM?" she asked amusedly.

„I was watching Phineas and Ferb."

She started laughing at that. „Hey! It was a good show!" he said, feigning hurt.

Sarah rolled her eyes. „Obviously. Perry was awesome, but we're sidetracking."

„Oh, right. Anyway, it is speculated that my body is able to absorb solar energy more efficiently. Plus my body already adapted to Earth's sun and atmosphere. Ma said that I had trouble breathing when I was a toddler," he said.

„You were adjusting to our air?" she asked.

„Yeah. I mean, it's not like air on Earth and Krypton were exactly the same in composition and ratio, right? My body had to adapt. Luckily, the solar energy helped me a lot with that. The air on Krypton would kill a normal human. And I'm not even talking about gravity. It was a lot higher than that of Earth," he said.

„How much?"

„Uh. . . Well, on Earth, the gravity is approximately 9,81 G, right?"

She nodded.

„Krypton's gravity was around 200 G, I think. It would crush a normal human," he said. Sarah's jaw was on the floor by the time he finished the sentence.

„200 G. . . Oh my God, Clark!" she exclaimed. He chuckled. „The evolution! Kryptonian muscles must have genetically adapt to the greater resistance, which means your muscles are already adapted to it because you're a Kryptonian, which means that even wihout solar energy, you'd most likely have super—„ she was cut off by Clark with a kiss.

And what a kiss it was. The immediately responded and kissed him back, effectively deepening the kiss. She was in heaven. But air was important, too.

„You were rambling," he said after she broke the kiss for the much needed air.

„Yeah, I know, I know, sorry. I just got excited. You know how much I love Biology," she said. He chuckled.

„Yeah, I do. I have a question for you this time," he said.

„Shoot."

„Why the sudden interest in Kryptonians?" he asked.

„Because I want to understand you better," she said without missing a beat. Apparently, that was a good answer, because he gave her the biggest grin she's ever seen on his face and kissed her again. She didn't complain.

„Alright, I have one last question for you," she said after the kiss ended.

„Yeah?"

„What does Kal-El mean?"

Clark looked at her as if she had 2 heads. „It's my birthname," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

She rolled her eyes. „I know that. I meant, what does it mean in Kryptonese?"

„Oh, right," he said. For a superior lifeform with a hyperindexed IQ, he sure could be a dork sometimes. Scratch it. Always. „It means Star-Child. Pretty fitting, huh?" he smiled.

She smiled back at him and put her head on his chest. He still had his arms wrapped around her, but he tightened his hold on her a little bit. „Yeah. It definitely is," she said as she looked at her tattoo. _Through the hardships to the stars._

* * *

Clark's Justice League comm link, which was on the nightstand next to his bed, buzzed.

„Yeah?" he said after he put it in his ear and activated it.

„ _Yo, big blue. An emergency in Metropolis. Some evil sorceress. Wonder Woman's already on it, but she needs back-up. You free?"_ came the voice of Wally West.

„Sure, Wally. Give me the coordinates, I'll be there in a few."

„ _Oh, Supes, you won't need coordinates. Just follow the path of death and destruction."_

„I hope you're kidding about the death part."

„ _Of course I am! Do you think I'd be in this mood if anyone died out there? No way. See you there."_

Clark sighed and rolled his eyes. He untangled herself from Sarah, who was still sleeping beside him. After their little conversation about Kryptonians, they talked about books for a few minutes (or hours, doesn't matter). Luckily, it was Saturday, which meant he wasn't needed anywhere and his monitor duty on the Watchtower would start in the evening. He checked the clock. 3:27 PM.

She stirred in her sleep. He didn't want to wake her, but based on her uneven breathing, he knew she was already up.

„Morning, sleepyhead," he whispered.

She bolted upright. „Morning?" she exlaimed. She checked the clock while Clark burst out laughing.

She grumbled something incoherent and laid back down. She then turned around and looked at him. „Where are you going?"

„An emergency in Metropolis. Wonder Woman needs back-up," he said. He didn't tell her any of the identities of the League members, and she understood that. He was glad.

„Alright, then. Good luck. And please, be careful," she said. He took off his shirt and made his way over to his suit, which was on a chair in front of his table. The suit was already assembled, as he attempted to clean it after his not-so-clean trip to a volcano in Hawaii.

And he did clean it. It looked as clean as the first time he wore it.

 _Oh, how glad I am I made the suit from a material that's easy to wash_ , the thought.

Before he put it on, he didn't fail to notice Sarah checking him up and down. For an unknown reason, it made him blush and smirk at the same time.

„See something you like?" he teased.

When he looked at her, her face was a shade of deep crimson, but he just smiled at her.

„I'll see you tonight, alright?"

She nodded. He smiled at her one last time before he put the suit on, and in a flash, even though that's Wally's line, he was out the window, flying into the direction of Metropolis, leaving a sonic boom in his wake.

* * *

Sarah went downstairs to the Kents, who after hearing the sonic boom, decided to go into the living room and turn on the LIVE news.

„ _This is Cat Grant from DCTV, we're currently LIVE in Metropolis, where Wonder Woman and The Flash are currently fighting a sorceress known as Circe. According to our source, Sirce is an old enemy of Wonder Woman's Amazon mother, Queen Hippolyta, and is, in fact, not a metahuman, as many people are led to believe._

 _Wonder Woman seems to be struggling against Circe's magic, while The Flash is trying to transport people in the area out of danger."_

Martha noticed Sarah looking at the TV. She smiled at her and motioned for her to sit next to her on the couch. Sarah smiled and sat down.

„Clark's already on his way, isn't he?" asked Martha.

Sarah nodded. „Yeah, he got a call from the Justice League. I just hope he'll be okay. Wonder Woman is in terms of power second only to him, and is a much better fighter, and even she seems to struggle."

Martha nodded mutely as her eyes travelled back to the TV in front of her. The camera now focused on Wonder Woman fighting Circe, who seemed to have an upper hand.

„ _Where's Zatanna when you need her,"_ grumbled Wonder Woman, but everyone could hear her. Circe laughed.

Suddenly, there was a sonic boom, one Sarah and the Kents knew all too well. A few seconds later, Superman was standing next to Wonder Woman. He landed on the ground so hard pavement cracked underneath.

Sarah started biting her nails. For some reason, her gut was telling her that something bad was going to happen.

* * *

„Well, well, well," purred Circe, „if it isn't our newest hero."

Clark looked at Circe. She was wearing an outfit similar to that of Wonder Woman, except that the colors were darker – a shade of purple and silver, and she had a grey warrior skirt. Clark then looked at her face. He had to admit she was beautiful, with bright purple hair and violet eyes, not unlike Lois, and she wore a silver tiara on her forehead.

„And you are Circe. I've read about you in the League database. Why are you here?" he asked.

She looked him up and down, and then into his eyes. „Well, alien," her voice was now much colder than before, „Wonder Woman has defeated me before. But now, I am more powerful than ever before! And I shall have my revenge!" she said, and with that, she attacked Clark with a spell.

Clark knew that while he was more resistant to magic than most humans, he wasn't resistant to it completely. With that thought, he supersped out ot the way of the spell, effectively dodging it.

„No man has ever been able to dodge my spell, alien. How did you do it?!" she asked, enraged.

Clark looked at Diana, and they communicated without words. _Distract her_. Clark nodded quickly.

Circe started moving toward him while Diana contacted Wally through the comm and started whispering quietly.

„I'm not your ordinary man, Circe," he said. His eyes started glowing deep crimson, including his sclera. Her steps faltered for a second, but then, she gave him a cheshire grin.

„You may be strong, hero," she said, „but you are still an alien. Your powers come from your physiology. Not magic. You avoided it because you knew it would hurt you, didn't you?"

His face gave away nothing while her smile got wider.

„Very well, alien. But believe me, I have a few tricks up in my sleeve," she said.

He could see Diana nodding at him encouragingly to keep distracting her from the corner of his eye. She made her way quietly behind Circe. Clark also noticed the NEWS camera with a reporter. Cat Grant? Didn't she work for the Planet?

 _Doesn't matter now, Kent,_ he thought.

„You don't have any sleeves," Clark pointed out, trying to keep her attention on him.

The only response he got was a low growl. He could see a faint purple and green energy around her hands, and he knew in that moment that she was preparing another spell. More powerful this time, something that she was sure would take him out.

 _Alright, reflexes, don't you dare abandon me right now_ , he thought dryly.

„I haven't used this curse in hundreds of years, hero. I hope it'll be worth it," she said, her voice a little strained. She must have put a lot of energy into that one curse. Clark knew that Diana would strike when she was at the weakest, therefore, he had to let her use the curse. He just hoped he'd be able to dodge it.

She started whispering something in Ancient Greek. Clark spoke Greek, but he didn't know the ancient dialect. He understood something about the goddess Hecate, ήρωας and θάνατος. Hero and death.

 _Shit,_ thought Clark. _It's a killing curse._

But it was too late. Circe's entire body started glowing purple. She focused the energy into her hands, and with a cold smile, she pushed her hands forward, blasting the energy right into his direction.

Clark's brain went overdrive. The energy, or rather, curse, was moving extremely fast towards him. He could hear vaguely hear a female scream. He didn't know if it was Sarah all the way from Smallville or Diana. He hoped it was neither.

Everything around Clark slowed down – just like when he used his superspeed. He tried to superspeed out of the way, and he nearly did it, but then he noticed that the curse rapidly changed its direction and hit him right in the chest.

The last thing he remembered was the sound of metal on metal, before everything went black.

* * *

 **I'm a piece of shit, I know, ending a chapter with a cliffhanger. Don't worry, I'll probably write another chapter this weekend. Key word: probably.**

 **See ya around:)**


	33. Chapter 33 - Alive

**Alright - I promised to write this chapter by the end of the weekend. I didn't say which weekend. Hehe. No, I'm sorry.**

 **I went to see Logan this Friday, and I gotta say, the movie was amazing. Probably one of the best X-Movies, if not the best (First Class is still #1 in my humble opinion).**

 **Anyway, here's the 33rd chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman, unfortunately.**

* * *

Chapter 33 - Alive

The last thing Clark remembered was the sound of metal on metal. And the burning pain in his chest, as if he was struck by twenty lightnings at once. Or forty.

When he regained consciousness, the thing he remembered last – the burning pain – returned with a vengeance. He wasn't completely sure if he could move the upper part of his body without his chest crying in protest.

Clark slowly opened his eyes, and was surprised to see the cealing of the Fotress of Solitude's infirmary – the solar lamps and the crystaline structure.

Fortress of Solitude, of Fortress, as Clark called it, is Clark's place of solace, protection and the last gift from his biological parents, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van. It houses the most advanced Kryptonian technology with vast databases containing the knowledge of various parts of the universe.

Clark decided, much to the chagrin of his aching muscles, to prop himself up into a seating position. Luckily, the bed in the Fortress Infirmary (FI) is also Kryptonian, therefore it responded to his movements and inclined itself as requested.

He heard the _swoosh_ of the automatic door as it opened and a series of footsteps behind him.

 _Great idea, Kent, having the bed not facing the door,_ he thought.

„Looks like sleeping beauty finally woke up," he heard someone say. Clark scoffed.

„Very funny, Batman," he said hoarsely. Kelex immediately handed him a glass of water.

„Thank you, Kelex," said Clark after taking a few sips, his voice now sounding much better.

„ _You're welcome, master Kal-El,"_ replied the robotic butler.

„You may leave," he said. Kelex turned around and left the room.

It didn't take long before he had two set of eyes glaring into his skull. One belonging to the Dark Crusader, and the other, unsurprisingly, belonging to the Princess of Themiscyra herself.

„Uh.. hi?" said Clark, trying to sound nonchalant.

„You didn't tell the League about the Fortress," said Batman – it was a statement.

„You didn't ask. I can tell you about it later, alright? For now, I'd like to ask you a few questions – for example, how the hell did I get here? What happened? How long have I been out? The last thing I remember is Circe muttering something in Ancient Greek about killing and Hecate. Killing curse?"

Batman sighed and gestured to Diana to bring him up to speed.

„You were hit by an ancient killing curse created by Hecate thousands of years ago. You barely survived, Clark," she said, her voice completely serious „we have no idea how you managed to survive – you just did."

„Even I don't understand my physiology to full extent, Diana.. I'll run some tests later. About my other questions?"

This time, it was Batman who spoke up. „Your girlfriend led us here."

Clark choked on his spit. „M-My girlfriend?"

Batman's lips turned upwards the tiniest bit. Diana grinned. The tension slowly dissipated.

„Yes. You carry your phone in the little pocket of your cape – she called. I picked up. She asked what happened. By the way, Kent, she was scared. You've got some apologizing to do."

Clark nodded. He couldn't even begin to imagine what was running through Sarah's head. And what about his parents? Oh, God.

Batman then proceeded to tell him the basic info. After Sarah called, she gave Batman coordinates to the Fortress, along with instructions what to do – how to enter the Fortress, where to take Clark, and, most importantly – let Kelex take care of him.

Clark smiled, the pain in his chest all but forgotten. He'll have to make it up to her.

„As for your last question.. you've been here for almost three days, soaking up the artificial solar energy from the solar lamps."

Clark's eyes widened. „Three days?! Oh, God. That means it's Tuesday. Perry's going to fire my ass.."

To his surprise, Batman chuckled. „Don't worry, Kent. I called Perry and explained to him that you will be indisposed for a short while."

Clark's eyes narrowed. „You?"

„Yes. I'm his boss, after all."

Clark's eyes widened comically. „The current owner of the Planet is..."

Suddenly, Batman took off his cowl, revealing the handsome face of the famous billionaire playboy.

„Bruce Wayne," he confirmed offered his hand for a handshake, „nice to meet you officialy, Kent."

Clark grinned and accepted the handshake. „So, technically, that makes you my boss, eh?"

Bruce rolled his eyes. „The news are replaying the footage on a constant loop."

Clark sighed. „So, what are the titles? _The Death of Superman_? _Superman's Last Stand_? _How To Get Seriously Hurt In Less Than Three Seconds: A Guide By Superman_?"

Diana chuckled, Bruce rolled his eyes again. „You were right about the first two."

Clark then decided to stand up, his muscles were protesting, but he didn't care about that. His knees felt a little wobbly – he's never felt this... weak... before. He doesn't like the feeling.

„You should lay down for a little while," suggested Diana, but even she knew that when Clark set his mind to something, there was no way of convincing him to not do the thing. What a stubborn man.

Clark shrugged in response. Diana sighed and followed him into the center of the fortress – the Central Room, where the main computer resided.

Clark then said something in Kryptonian, and the display showed various news channels – CNN, FOX NEWS, HLN, and various others. They were all muted, except for one.

„— _urrent state of Superman remains unknown, though it is suspected that the Man of Steel is either comatose or dead."_

Clark rolled his eyes and turned around to look at the two heroes.

„Thank you," he said sincerely.

Diana smiled while Bruce nodded. „We'll be leaving now. You need to rest. And call your family. I'm sure they are worried."

Clark saw something flicker in Bruce's eyes, but before he could even begin to identify it, it was gone.

* * *

After they left, Clark picked up his phone – Clark didn't know how, but he had a signal. He called the Kent residence. After a few rings, his mother picked up.

„ _Hello?"_ she asked, her voice sounded strained.

„Hey, Ma."

„ _Clark! Oh my god, honey, are you okay? What happened?—"_ she started asking million questions at once. Clark laughed.

„Mom, relax. I'm sorry I scared you. I'm fine, I'm in the Fortress, actually. I'll be home in a few hours, when I heal properly. I'll explain everything then. I'm alright, okay? You don't have to worry. I love you."

„ _I love you too, Clark. Come home soon."_

„I will," he promised.

* * *

After that, he decided to call Sarah. The call went pretty much the same way as it did with his mom – except for Sarah's promise that she will kill him herself if he ever scares her like that again.

„Duly noted," he said.

„ _Good. I'll see you tomorrow, alright? Just rest,"_ she said, and her voice sounded even softer than usual. He must've really scared her.

„Yeah. Good night," Clark thought about telling her that he loved her – Lois Lane herself told him that it was never the right time – only the right person.

But he'd rather tell her that face to face, not through the phone.

„ _Good night, Clark,"_ she said before she hung up.

After a few hours under the solar lamps, Clark started to feel a lot better – the ache in his chest all but subsided. He did a few scans on himself – especially his chest – and compared it to the scans Kelex did shortly after Diana and Bruce brought him there.

On Kelex's scans, Clark's heart was damaged because the curse hit him straight in the chest, right above his heart. In the newest scans, his heart was fully healed. Clark sighed. There shouldn't be any lasting side-effects.

Clark put on his suit. It's time to go home.

* * *

He's pretty sure he's never been hugged so tight by his parents. The moment he landed on the front porch of the Kent house, both Jonathan and Martha tuckled him in a big hug. Not that he minded, of course. When they broke away, his mother's expression turned from caring, motherly and empathetic to stern.

„Now, young man, what happened there?" she demanded as she crossed her arms. Clark gulped, and proceeded to explain.

„You survived a killing curse," stated Jonathan.

„Yep."

Jonathan whistled. Martha punched him in the shoulder.

„Not funny, Jonathan," she said before she turned around and hugged Clark again.

„Now," she said after she pulled away, „I think there is one girl who really wants to see you."

Clark smiled and nodded. He quickly changed into a pair of shorts and a white Batman t-shirt – it's important to Clark that Bruce never finds out about this – and made his way over to the Wilsons.

* * *

He didn't even have the chance to knock on the door before it opened and he felt a pair of arms wrap around him in a deathgrip. Instinctively, Clark wrapped his arms around her small (for him) form and held her tightly. He was pretty sure that he'd have some bones broken if it weren't for his invulnerability.

He heard her relieved sigh and he couldn't help but smile a little into her hair.

„Are you alright?" she murmured into his chest.

He just held her tighter in response. „Yeah. I'm fine now. I'm sorry I scared you."

There was no _if_ about that.

She just shrugged her shoulders in response. Clark kissed the top of her head.

„It's okay. I knew what I signed up for," she said, „but that doesn't make it any easier. When I saw you fall on the ground on TV..."

She didn't finish, just held him even tighter, if that was possible.

He didn't know how long they've been in an embrace before someone cleared their throat. Sarah sighed and slowly unwrapped herself from him. Clark did the same.

„Hi, Frank," said Clark.

„Hello, Clark," smiled Frank Wilson, Sarah's uncle and current guardian, whose eyes shone with amusement, „would you like to stay for dinner?"

Just when Clark was about to object, Sarah said, „He'd love to, Frank!"

Clark was about to protest again, but when she looked at her, he knew he didn't stand a chance. He sighed and looked at Frank with a smile. „Sure, Frank. Thank you."

Frank just laughed and gave him a knowing look that said _You are wrapped around her little finger, aren't you?_

Sarah took ahold of his hand and together, they entered the Wilsons' house.

„Ria, Clark's staying for dinner, if that's alright?" Frank raised his voice a little so that his wife, Arianna, could hear him.

„Clark's here?" yelled Ria back. A few seconds later, the woman in question strode into the living room, clearing her hands with a napkin.

When she noticed Clark, she hugged him quickly before she abruptly pulled away.

„We saw the news, Clark! Are you okay? What happened?"

Clark must've been gaping like a fish, because both Ria and Frank chuckled. Clark then looked at Sarah.

„You told them?" he asked, his voice full of surprise.

„Of course not. Clark, honey, they saw you without your glasses a few times already," she said calmly, though amusement was dancing in her eyes.

This time, Clark looked at the older couple. „H-How? W-W—"

Ria decided to take him out of his misery, „Clark, glasses aren't exactly the best disguise – especially for the people who know you. Plus, there aren't many seventeen-year olds who are 6'5" and have 230 pounds. Plus, I can see the S on your chest through your shirt, so that kind of gives it away."

Clark blushed and mumbled something about being 240 pounds, and Sarah stifled a giggle.

„You know I'm Superman and.. it's okay with you?" he asked, and all three of them noticed the flicker of fear in his eyes.

He was scared that they wouldn't accept him.

Sarah squeezed his hand while Ria smiled reassuringly.

„Clark," started Frank, „you are the most powerful being on Earth and you're only seventeen.. and yet you fight for what you think is right. You have to power to rule us all, but you don't. You fight for what you believe in. You help people. How could we not approve?"

Clark smiled at him, sending him a silent _thanks_.

* * *

The dinner was amazing. Ria, with a little assistance of Clark's heat vision and cooking skills (credit do Martha) managed to cook, or rather grill, salmon – a simple soy sauce, brown sugar marinade and hints of lemon and garlic.

„So, Clark," started Ria, „what happened out there?"

Clark put his fork down and interlaced his hand with Sarah's.

„I don't even know what happened, honestly. I got a call from the Flash, saying that D—Wonder Woman was having some sort of trouble in Metropolis. When I got there, I saw this.. sorceress, I guess. Her name is Circe. An old enemy of the Amazons or something," he said.

Sarah didn't miss his slip when he said Wonder Woman's name.

Clark continued, „She fired some spell at me – I managed to dodge the first one. Then, she summoned another spell – more powerful. She spoke Ancient Greek, so I understood only a few words, but even then, I got the message that it was a killing curse. Apparently, she directed it right at me, because even though I dodged it at first, the curse just.. followed me," Clark squeezed Sarah's hand, „and hit me in the chest. The next thing I know, I woke up in.. uh.. an infirmary, so to speak," he finished.

„Watchtower infirmary?" asked Frank.

„Oh, no," Clark smiled, „bud something like that."

Ria didn't miss the look Clark sent to Sarah – a look of pure gratitude – who smiled in return. Sarah had something to do with the last part, but she decided not to push.

Ria then looked at Frank, and they seemed to communicate without words. Frank nodded.

„Well, I have an announcement to make, to both of you. Frank already knows," she said with a smile.

That got both Sarah's and Clark's attention. Ria took a deep breath.

„I'm pregnant."

Silence.

One second.

Two seconds.

„OH MY GOD, RIA!" exclaimed Sarah a second before she stood up and gave her a big hug. „Congratulations!"

Clark stood up as well and made his way over to Frank. „Good job," said Clark with a wink, and Frank laughed.

After Sarah let go of Ria, he congratulated her as well.

Clark then looked at Sarah, who was positively beaming, and his stomach did a few flip-flops. She looked at him then, and with a twinkle in her eye, she stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a passionate kiss.

„PDA, kids!" exclaimed Frank after a few seconds.

All of them laughed.

* * *

Later that night, after the dinner and about ten games of 20 questions, all aimed at Ria and her pregnancy, Clark and Sarah decided to take a walk.

Neither said anything, for no words needed to be said. Their hands were intervened and they walked slowly, enjoying each other's company.

„Kal-El."

Both Sarah and Clark stopped dead in their tracks. In front of them stood three beings – two of which Clark was pretty sure were human – wearing black and green uniform with a symbol on their chest Clark, unfortunately, recognized.

„Green Lanterns," said Clark.

One of them - the alien – nodded. He was at least 8'3", with pink skin and red eyes. Clark recognized him as a Bolovaxian.

„Very good, poozer. Name's Kilowog – I'm the Green Lantern of Sector 674."

„You're a Bolovaxian," said Clark again. This time, Kilowog didn't hide his surprised expression.

„Kryptonian database," Clark explained, „but that doesn't explain why the three of you are here. As far as I know, there is only one Lantern for each Sector of the universe."

One of the human Lanterns shook his head. He was tall, though not as tall as Clark, lean but muscular, and had dark brown hair. „Not anymore, Kal-El. There are two Lanterns for each Sector now. Me," he gestured to himself, „and him," he gestured to another Lantern, who waved awkwardly, „are the Lanterns of this Sector – 2814."

The second Lantern of Sector 2814 looked similar to the first, but he was slightly smaller and his uniform looked more.. creative. The Green Lantern symbol was on on the right side of his chest, and there were some white parts of his uniform.

„Which still doesn't explain why you're here," said Clark. He looked at Sarah and saw her watch Kilowog in fascination. She had his hand in a deathgrip. He squeezed her hand gently.

„We need your help. Have you ever heard of Doomsday?"


	34. Chapter 34 - Oa

**Alright, I'm back, kicking ass and writing. If there are any spellings wrong, please, let me know either in the review or send me a PM, and I'll fix it right away.**

 **I can't believe we're at 90 000 words already! :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman. :'c**

* * *

Chapter 34 - Oa

Sarah felt Clark stiffen at the mention of something called Doomsday. She was confused. Who were they? What/who are Green Lanterns? Why are they here? Why did they call Clark by his Kryptonian name? And why in the world did Clark, the bravest and strongest person Sarah's ever seen, stiffened, most likely, out of fear?

Those questions weren't important to her now, except for the last one. She squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back. She slowly felt the tension disappear from his body.

„Why won't we go somewhere else? Other people might see you," suggested Clark. The Lanterns looked at each other and nodded.

* * *

„Yeah. I've read about him in the Fortress's database," said Clark after they found a safe spot in the outskirts of Smallville – near the Kent farm. He looked at Sarah with an expression that clearly said _I'll tell you everything later_. She nodded at him.

„I suppose you already know a lot about _it_ ," said the alien who introduced himself as Kilowog, and Sarah didn't miss he called Doomsday an _it_ , while Clark called it a _him_. Kilowog continued, „He is currently heading to Oa."

This time, Sarah couldn't help but voice her curiosity. She let go of Clark's hand and said, „Alright, time-out," while waving her hands in the time-out gesture. „What the hell is Oa? Who are you? What is Doomsday?"

Clark took a deep breath.

„The Green Lantern Corps is an intergalactic military/police force. They use these rings," he gestured to one of the Lanterns, who lifted up his arm and showed her a glowing green ring with a strange symbol on it, „with which they can create anything they imagine – shapes, weapons, shields, everything that comes to mind."

„Yep," said one of the human Lanterns – the taller one, „the boy's right. He forgot to mention a few things, though, but those are not important right now. Right now, we need to talk about Doomsday."

Sarah almost rolled her eyes. „Alright. What's Doomsday?"

„A failed ancient Kryptonian experiment," Clark eyes darkened, and he sounded ashamed, which Sarah didn't understand, „Doomsday is a weapon of pure destruction. A soulless killer. Once you kill him, he regenerates and can't be killed the same way again. Kryptonians battled him for years, which only made him tougher."

„It is one of the most powerful beings in the universe," added Kilowog, „the poozer has killed dozens of our best Lanterns. And it really hates Kryptonians."

His voice sounded sad – he must've known at least some of the Lanterns. But Doomsday – based on what Clark said, the monster is basically indestructible. Clark's fear now made sense. It hated Kryptonians, and Clark is a Kryptonian. Sarah already guessed the reason of the Lanterns' approach, and she prayed she was wrong.

„We need your help, Kal-El," said the smaller, human Lantern, „you are the only being in the universe who actually stands a chance against him in one on one fight."

She looked at Clark, and she already saw the pure steel like determination in his eyes. Sarah knew that even she couldn't talk him out of it. She sighed.

„How much time do we have?" asked Clark eventually, while looking at the three Lanterns.

„Doomsday will arrive to Oa in about 20 hours. The journey there will take us at least 5 at our maximum speed. The Guardians also want to talk to you, so we better be off as soon as we can," said the taller Lantern.

Clark sighed. „Okay. Give me an hour."

The Lanterns nodded and flew off, leaving Clark and Sarah alone. She took both of her hands in his and looked him in the eyes.

„I don't suppose I can talk you out of this one, can I?" she whispered resignedly. He put his hand on her cheek and caressed it with his thumb.

„No," he said softly, and she closed her eyes.

„Let me come with you, at least," she suggested. She could feel him shake his head.

„There is no way in hell you are going to be there, Sarah," he said, „it's dangerous. There will be casualties. Sarah, I.. I don't think even I can take him."

Sarah sighed and hugged him close. „I know," she said, „but Clark.. you can take him. I know you can."

Sarah opened her eyes and looked at him. She reached her hands and took off his glasses, revealing those inhuman, beautiful blue eyes, full of determination, fear, and love.

„You can," she said. „You can't hold back. And you won't be alone. I'll be with you the whole time."

„You aren't going," he said, and she rolled her eyes – leave it to her to ruin the moment.

„Seriously? That's what you take from my little speech? I'll be here," she gestured to his heart, „always here. And yes, I'm goi—"

She didn't get to finish the sentence, because in that moment, Clark's hold on her tightened and he kissed her passionately and deeply. He's never given her a kiss like this – so full of passion, emotion. She could feel every emotion he poured into the kiss – the love, the desperation, the fear, and most importantly, the hope. When they (she) broke away for air, she rested her forehead against his chest.

„No, you are not."

* * *

Clark let the Justice League know he was going to be out of commission for a while – an _outer space mission for the green guys_. Surprisingly, the Justice League was familiar with the Green Lanterns, and they understood what he meant by the _green guys_.

However, telling his parents was probably the hardest part of it all. His Ma cried.

„Ma, you know as well as I do that I have to do it," his voice broke a little at the _have_ , „it's Kryptonian. It's my duty."

„My little boy," she said as put her hands on either side of his face, „we raised you well. You will defeat it. I know it. Just.. come back home, okay?"

Clark nodded and hugged her tightly. His dad patted him on the shoulder. „I'm proud of you, Clark."

He hugged him tightly – a man hug, as Martha called it – and patted him on the back a few times. „Good luck, son."

* * *

Clark was now clad in his suit, the symbol of the House of El solid on his chest, the cape gently swaying with the wind. He stood on the outskirts of Smallville with Sarah and his parents, waiting for the Lanterns to arrive. The moment he came there, Sarah flung herself at him and refused to let him go.

Not that he minded, of course.

Sarah was still bend on going with him, no matter what. She saw him almost die once, and she was helpless. She was not going to do that again – worst of all, she wouldn't even watch. She could be doing the goddamn laundry while Clark was out there, dying. There's no way in hell she was going to let that happen.

For Clark's part, he was scared shitless – he's only seventeen and he's never faced a threat like this before, and most likely never will. Doomsday is one of the most powerful beings in the universe, and Clark truly doesn't know if he'll be able to defeat it. He let himself get overwhelmed with Sarah – her heartbeat, her smell of old books and some shampoo.. strawberries, maybe? He let it overwhelm him.

Which is why he almost jumped two... hundred thousand... feet in the air, along with Sarah, when Kilowog asked if they were ready to go. Apparently, the three Lanterns appeared and talked to the Kents for a short while.

„Yeah," said Clark. He steeled himself and let calm wash over him – he learned that in the Fortress in his spare time, the technique is called Torquasm-Rao – an ancient meditation technique similar to Tai Chi.

He untangled himself from Sarah, and with one last squeeze, he let her go and went to the Lanterns.

The three rings on their hands started to glow and a second later, a huge green space-ship stood on the ground. Clark's, Sarah's, and he's pretty sure that both Jonathan's and Martha's jaws dropped.

„Welcome to the Lantern Airlines," joked the taller human Lantern. Clark managed a small smile. „Now, get in."

Clark said goodbye to his parents and disappeared into the ship, along with the Lanterns. Clark looked around the ship.

There were many controllers, levers and buttons – the kind you usually find in planes or helicopters – Clark studied something about them, so he knew some of them. There were normal seats, windows, one Lantern, second Lantern, Sarah, third Lantern..

Sarah?

„What the hell are you doing here?" Clark demanded, though he hugged her, even though he himself didn't know why.

„Because I'm just as stubborn as you and I'm going with you," she said.

Before Clark could protest, Kilowog laughed and put his arm around Sarah's shoulders.

„I like this one! She'd make a fine Lantern!" he laughed, and Sarah grinned.

„Still," insisted Clark, „that doesn't mean she can go. It's too dangerous for her."

„Clark," said Sarah, „I can take care of myself. Remember? Martial artist? BAMF? Could and would kick your ass?"

Clark sighed and Sarah took his face in her hands (after she shrugged Kilowog's arm off), „I know you lo—care about me," she said, „but Clark... I want to do this. I can do this. I promise, I won't attack Doomsday head-on or anything. I just want to support you. That's what a good girlfriend does, isn't it? Cheer for her superpowered boyfriend while he defeats one of the most powerful beings in the universe?"

Clark snorted at that, but he took his hand in his and kissed her calm. She saw the look in his eyes – he was stubborn as a mule, but she was every bit as stubborn as he was, maybe even more so. He realized it was a lost fight. Also, the fact that they were currently next to the Moon seemed to help the matters. How did they not notice it before?

„Yeah, okay. But," he said, „under a few conditions."

„Shoot."

„One. You won't go _anywhere_ near the fight. Even if I'm losing. Got it?"

She was prepared to object, but he cut her off with a kiss. „Two. You will not.. you know what? Forget it. I was going to say that you'll not risk your life, but you're already doing this."

He sighed and she grinned. This time, it was her who innitiated the kiss. „You are smart," she teased.

He grinned. „Yes, I am."

His hands found their way to her hips, and he held her close. „And finally.. three," he said, his face softening. „I love you."

Sarah's eyes widened and she froze. She wanted to tell him she loved him countless times before – she's pretty sure she told him she loved him when she was sleeping back when she told him about her past – but this... she didn't expect him to say it first. Clark must've read her silence as something else, because he looked.. hurt. Sarah grinned and kissed him roughly.

„I love you too, you dork."

They both smiled.

* * *

The journey there was not, in fact, as boring as Sarah would have thought. The human Lanterns, who finally introduced themselves – the taller one is Hal, and the smaller with the artistic tendencies (based on the uniform) is Kyle. Kilowog, Kyle and Hal told Clark and Sarah many stories, including the history of the Corps and the Guardians.

„What do you mean that Kryptonians were almost the same age as them?" asked Clark, dumbfunded.

„This is exactly what I meant by that, Kal," explained Hal, „both Kryptonian and the.. Guardian, I guess.. race evolved almost side by side. Almost. Guardians were slightly older, and they evolved at a slightly faster pace."

„I feel like a fossil," mumbled Clark, and Sarah giggled. The rest of the Lanterns, including Kilowog, who was currently flying the ship, laughed.

„We'll arrive to Oa in about 20 minutes."

Sarah's ears perked up at that. She looked out the window and she almost choked on her own spit. The planet was beautiful, in its own way. It was more of a desert-like planet, but she could clearly see the main city – or its equivalent. Green was practically glowing there, much to Sarah's chargrin – green was never her color.

„Enjoying the sight, m'lady?" asked Clark as he stepped closer. „Won't be long and it'll all be in ruins."

Sarah sighed. She almost forgot the reason for their... trip... here. Once she remembered again, the butterflies – not the good kind – in her stomach returned. She turned around and tried to smile, though he could see through her as if she were a goddamn window.

„Don't be such a pessimist," she scolded playfully, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

It seemed to have worked, as Clark cracked her a shit eating grin.

„Yes, ma'am," he whispered as he leaned down and captured his lips with hers.

She didn't complain.

* * *

„Alright, lovebirds, we're landing!" yelled Kilowog from the cockpit. Sarah laughed while Clark blushed.

They slowly started to descend and Sarah held Clark's hand tightly. She remembered Hal mentioning something about Guardians wanting to see Clark, so she figured that they wouldn't let her be there with him. Not that she minded, of course. She'd stick to Kilowog or Hal or Kyle, or all three of them, and she'd see Clark later.

Still, she was worried about him. If what Kilowog said it's true, and the beast has unnatural hate for Kryptonians... Sarah didn't even want to think about it. She shuddered, which Clark took as a sign of her being cold, so he wrapped his arms around her. She didn't complain and snuggled herself into him, resting her head against his chest and listening to the sound of his strong and steady heartbeat.

 _Hopefully, it'll be strong and steady by this time tomorrow,_ she thought.

They finally landed and they both stood up, though neither Clark nor Sarah let go of each other's hands. Once they left the ship, it immediately disappeared – presumably into their rings, where the energy was being stored.

„Alright," said Kyle, „the Guardians want to see Kal-El, so I'll take him to them. In the meantime, Kilowog, would you mind showing Sarah the battery?"

Kilowog and Clark both nodded, while Hal looked confused. „Uh, guys? What should I do?"

„Prepare for a fight," said Kilowog, his expression turning hard.

Hal opened his mouth a few times, but no words came out. „You look like a gaping fish," said Kilowog.

„How do you even know what a fish is?" asked Hal, finally able to talk.

Clark rolled his eyes and let go of Sarah's hand. He immediately missed the reassuring contact.

„I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

Sarah nodded and kissed him on the cheek.

„Don't you dare be late," she said with a teasing smile.

He rolled his eyes. „Captain America reference? Really?"

She nodded, and he kissed her. Hopefully, they wouldn't end up like Peggy and Steve.

* * *

Kyle led Clark to the tallest building on the planet – he offered him to fly him there via ring, but Clark prefered to fly under his own power. Once they reached the top, they entered via an Ancient Rome like entrance – _an arch_ , his brain supplied – but the similarity ended there.

Once they entered the room, he immediately noticed that it was a was all built in a modern-like style – all green and silver and gray. Clark kind of liked this style. It reminded him of his fortress a little bit.

In the center of the room stood all the Guardians next to a circular table.. with a big hole in the middle of it – that's the only way Clark could describe it – all of them high above the ground.

The guardians were pretty much every person's idea of an alien, except they were blue, not green. They were small, with white hairs (or completely bald), and were clad in a red and blue robe with a green Green Lantern symbol on their chests.

Clark, knowing that he was in the presence of the Guardians, automatically bowed. „It is an honor to meet you, Guardians of the Universe."

„Please, stand, Kal-El," said one of them – he looked friendlier than the rest. He showed more emotion. „My name is Appa Ali Appsa, and truly, it is an honor to meet you. A living, breathing Kryptonian. We thought you were all..."

„Gone?" Clark supplied. The Guardian could only nodd.

„I believe our Lanterns have already acquainted you with our situation?" asked, or more like, stated, another one of the Guardians. She looked younger than all of them, barely any wrinkle at all. However, she had a scar running down from her right temple down to her chin.

„I am, ma'am," he said respectfully. „Doomsday is a Kryptonian fail. I want to fix it. However I can."

She nodded at him. „Very well, young Kryptonian."

„Doomsday will arrive in approximately 13 hours. You should become familiar with the planet as well as the other Lanterns, whose help will most likely be essential in defeating the beast. I, by no means, underestimate you, Kal-El, but we all know what an artificially born Kryptonian's limits are."

„Indeed, and I believe you. However, I was not born through the Birthing Matrix," he said.

„We have had theories about you being naturally born," said Ganthet, „but we did not know for sure until now. Kal-El, you have no idea how much power you have."

Clark looked at them, his face full of surprise. He didn't even try to hide it.

„You are right. I have no idea how strong I truly am. Every day, I wake up, and I feel stronger than the day before. Every day, I have to be more careful – around the people I love, around things, around everyone and everything."

The Guardians nodded, as if they understood. They didn't. They were strong, yes. But physically, they were no match for Clark. Nobody knew how hard it was to keep himself restr—

„And that is why you should not hold back in this fight, Kal-El. Doomsday is exceptionally powerful – even more so now, for it has defeated dozens of our most experienced and bravest Lanterns. Do not be afraid to let loose. Do not be afraid to lose control. Doomsday will attack you the most – it hates Kryptonians much more than the Lanterns, as they inflicted it pain for years, which only made him stronger," advised Appa Ali Appsa, „do this, Kal-El, and with our help, you shall defeat him."

Clark nodded at them. „Very well," he said, „thank you."

They nodded. Clark bowed once again and made his way towards the exit. Before he could leave, though, Appa Ali Appsa called out for him.

„And Kal-El?"

„Yes?" asked Clark as he turned around.

„You look very much like your father. Well, except for the eyes and hair," he said.

Clark's eyes widened comically, and the Guardian seemed to try and hold back a smile. „Y-You knew my father?"

„Why of course! He was the greatest mind on all of Krypton! I knew your mother as well. You have her eyes."

„Thank you," said Clark sincerely. The Guardian nodded – he noticed the tears in the young Kryptonian's eyes. Although he never knew them, he really missed his parents.

When Clark finally left, the Guardians all looked at Appa Ali Appsa.

„Was that really necessary?" asked Scar.

„He needed to know that someone knew them. That someone remembers them," he said.

* * *

When Clark finally found Sarah, Kyle, Hal and Kilowog in some sort of diner-like restaurant, they all noticed the big grin and the tears in his eyes. Sarah immediately stood up and started asking him what happened. He just hugged her tightly and whispered into her ear, „They said I looked like my father."

Sarah immediately held him tighter. She knew first-hand how hard it was for Clark. He was still dealing with the loss of both his parents and his homeworld.

„Do you have any photo of them?" she asked quietly.

He shook his head. „But I can draw it."

She let go of him and smiled.

„Hey, Lanterns, you got any pencil and paper?" asked Clark, his voice teasing, but also a little heavy.

They rolled their eyes. „Nope. But here," said Kyle as he took off his ring, „it will take an extreme amount of willpower, but if you manage to somehow master it, you can show them to us."

Clark nodded, „Thank you."

He took the ring and put it on his finger. Immediately, he was assaulted by an aura of power – it was extremely powerful, he's never felt like this before. His eyes started glowing green, as did basically everything around him.

It took a lot of concentration – Clark barely managed to make the ring listen to him. He concentrated on the happy thoughts – his parents guiding him – all of them, people he cares about, people who care about him.

Everyone was watching as the young Kryptonian tried to control Kyle Rayner's ring.

Suddenly, there was a burst of green energy, and when Sarah opened her eyes, she saw two green, beautiful, young faces staring down at her. She could immediately see the resemblance. Even without the beard, Sarah noticed that he and Clark have the same shape eyebrows, cheekbones, ears and his glass-cutting jaw. When she looked at the woman, she saw that Clark had her eye shape, nose and, based on what he told her, his hair and eye color, too.

„Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van," Sarah remembered. She then looked at Clark, who was looking at the construction with a sad smile on his face.

„Thank you, Kyle," he said. He then took off the ring and gave it back to its rightful owner.

„You're welcome, Kal."

„Please, uh.. you can all call me Clark. Kal-El may be my birthname, but I grew up as Clark Kent," he smiled. They all nodded.

„Alright, poozer," said Kilowog, „time to give you at least some basic training, otherwise Doomsday is gonna pummel you."

Clark sighed and rolled his eyes.

„This is gonna be fun," he mumbled.

* * *

 **I'm not sure I'm really happy with this chapter. Let me know in the reviews, please - every single on of them is really appreciated:)**

 **See ya around:)**


	35. Chapter 35 - Doomsday

**Hi! Sorry it took me this long to write another chapter - been a little busy, been a little lazy, and I couldn't decide how to write this chapter. And now, finally, I finished it. Yay me!**

 **Also, you may have noticed that I changed my profile picture - the art is actually Sarah Wilson from this story, made by joleanart on Tumblr. Looks awesome, right? :D Right.**

 **Disclaimer: All characters belong to the DC comics, except for Sarah Wilson. Hehe.**

* * *

Chapter 35 - Doomsday

Sarah has probably never seen anyone nearly as graceful as Clark was now during his training with Kilowog. Sure, she'd seen some fighters in her life, be it her former teacher or just very skilled martial artists, but only few came close to Clark's level.

He used his whole body to his advantage – his mass, his speed, his strength. His other abilities. By the way his eyes glowed faintly blue, she figured that he x-rayed Kilowog's physiology for pressure points or other weaknesses he could exploit.

With some precise calculations and the help of both his speed and his training, he was able to take a fully trained, 700+ pounds of Kilowog down in three seconds flat. Even Kilowog grinned.

„Not so bad, poozer," he said after accepting Clark's hand to help him up, „not so bad. Never seen technique such as this before. What is it?"

Clark smiled. „A combination of Torquasm-Rao, Klurkor and a little bit of Horu-Kanu."

Kilowog whistled, and Sarah couldn't help but let her lips quirk up a little. Those were Kryptonian martial arts – it had very few similarities with those of Earth, and yet the basics were still the same. Pressure points, speed, strength, and a little bit of gymnastics thrown into the mix.

Clark told her about his training via the Fortress Training Program, or FTP, as he called it. She's never seen him train, actually. But now that she had seen some of his moves, she would lie if she said she wasn't impressed. Sarah is really glad that he, even with all his power, decided to take the time and learn.

A thought occurred to her.

„Clark, what about Torquasm-Vo? Didn't you study that, too?" she asked him.

He smiled at her and nodded. „Yup. However, Torquasm-Rao is mainly a mental martial art, not physical. Think meditation, psychic barriers, telepathic resistance, stuff like that," he explained. „I can teach you, if you want to."

„Maybe some other time," she smiled, „for now, you need to prepare for what's to come."

„Alrighty then," he said, and gave her a dorky smile. She shook her head at him, amused. Here he is, about to face his greatest challenge yet – a being potentially more powerful than him – and he has the nerve to be dorky. True, he wouldn't be Clark without a little bit of dorkiness.

A surge of fear rushed through her at the mention of a being more powerful than Clark. She shuddered. Fortunately, Clark didn't notice. She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down.

She couldn't think like that. She had to stay optimistic – she could see that hidden fear behind the gentle eyes of her boyfriend. She knew he was afraid, and even though she was afraid, too, she had to stay calm, for his sake. He needed her, and they both knew it without mentioning it. She just hoped her presence, her being here with him, would be enough.

„We need to think of a strategy, Kryptonian," suggested Kilowog after a few seconds of silence, which successfully managed to bring Sarah out of her thoughts.

Clark nodded. „Once he arrives, I can scan him with my x-ray vision and look for a weak point, just like I did with you a few minutes ago. The problem is, I don't know if he _has_ any weak points," he said. „He's been alive, killing, regenerating, raising from death for thousands of years."

People who didn't know Clark Kent wouldn't notice the slight tremble in his voice. He was afraid.

Well, he was actually scared shitless, but he tried to act as brave as he could.

„That's a go—"

Kilowog was cut off by the sound of an explosion.

„WHAT'S GOING ON?" yelled Kilowog into his ring.

„ _It's here already!"_ came the urgent voice of Hal Jordan.

Clark's demeanor immediately changed. Before them stood no longer Clark Joseph Kent, the son of two farmers from a little town in Kansas. Before them stood Kal-El. The last survivor of his species. The last Kryptonian. One of the most powerful beings in the universe. Superman.

Sarah didn't notice it, though, because she was screaming internally. Her fingers started shaking a little bit, but after a few deep breaths, she managed to calm down. She looked at Clark, and it was then that she noticed the change.

Superman was ready to fight.

He looked at her, and she saw the tinge of fear in them, but most importantly, she saw all the adoration, all the love, and all the determination. Sarah but her hands behind his neck and brought him down for a searing kiss, where she tried to pour every last bit of every emotion she felt. And he did the same.

Once they broke apart, he squeezed her hand, and with that, he took off into the air, leaving a sonic boom in his wake.

The scientific part of her was curious about how even she was able to survive on this planet. She shook the thought away.

She started to run.

* * *

Clark was still in the air when Doomsday first noticed him. It was as if it could sense him, which, Clark thought, it probably could. Doomsday was holding a Green Lantern, a greenhorn, by her head, ready to snap her neck. Good news: he dropped her. Bad news: his attention was now on Clark. Which was part of the plan all along.

Clark finally got a good look at him, and immediately, he decided that pictures in the Fortress' database didn't do him justice.

He looked even more scarier in the flesh.

He was at least 10 feet tall, with grey skin, terrifying red eyes and bony spikes almost on his whole body. Clark didn't let the fear stop him.

He took a deep breath, and flew into his direction at mach speed, hitting him straight in the chest, which, he realized almost immediately, was a mistake. He should've scanned him for weak points first.

 _No time to dwell on that now, Kent._

He successfully managed to push Doomsday almost a hundred feet. It was then that Clark finally scanned him – both on molecular and cellular level, and learned basically nothing. His DNA resembles Kryptonian only slightly, therefore he is not able to absorb any form of sunlight. Clark sent a mental thanks to Rao for that.

However, Doomsday didn't have any weak points. It seemed that over the millenia, his body toughened and regenerated itself so much that his weak points just disappeared. The weakest part of his body seemed to be his head, so Clark decided to use that to his advantage.

All that happened in a span of half a second. With that thought, Clark used his superspeed and blurred over to Doomsday, hitting him in the face with almost all his strength. Doomsday roared in anger, but that didn't stop Clark. He started hitting him again and again, with both of his fists, using his whole body to put as much force into the punches as possible. He just hoped it would be enough.

Clark managed to basically break more than half of the bony protrusions on his face, before Doomsday caught his fist with one arm. Clark's eyebrows scrunched together, his face full of surprise. It was then that Doomsday punched him in the face, effectively sending Clark flying through dozens of buildings.

Clark groaned from the pain when he finally stopped. He spat out blood. He was also pretty sure his nose was broken, given the pain and the flow of blood cascading down his chin, and his lip was split open. Clark shook his head, regaining his bearing, and his eyes started glowing red. He didn't even notice his suit was cracked.

He rocketed over to Doomsday, and kicked him straight in the nose, putting all of his power behind the punch. Doomsday roared from the pain, and Clark grinned. He is able to hurt him, after all.

Clark scanned him and noticed that he indeed broke his nose, but it started to heal already. He could feel his nose and busted lip healing, too. He figured he must've looked like a crazy person – grinning in front of one of the most dangerous and powerful beings in the universe, with broken nose and a split lip. He didn't care, though. All of his attention was on Doomsday – focusing on every move of his muscle, of every twitch, every reaction.

Clark had a few advantages over Doomsday – flight, intelligence, heat vision and possibly speed. It seems possible that Doomsday outnumbered him in durability. And maybe even strength, though he really hoped that was not the case.

He scanned his head, and saw that his brain was pretty much left unprotected. He knew he shouldn't do this, but he also knew that the fight could go on for hours. They were pretty much equals.

With that, his eyes started blazing crimson, and a concentraced solar energy practically flew out of his eyes. Clark activated his x-ray vision to help him guide the heat vision, and tried to lobotomize him through his eye. Unfortunately, it didn't work. Clark'd have to put a lot more heat in the _heat_ vision, which he could not afford. Oa didn't orbit yellow, blue or orange sun. Clark was running purely on the solar energy stored in his body, and whether he liked it or not, heat vision took a lot of his body's energy.

He shook his head a little bit, and didn't notice Doomsday coming for him until it was too late. One second later, Doomsday had him by the throat, and started punching Clark in the stomach with all of his strength. And it hurt like hell. Clark grunted in pain, trying not to scream.

At the back of his mind, Clark wondered where all the Green Lanterns were.

Doomsday punched Clark in the stomach three more times, before he threw him away. Clark groaned. He vaguely noticed Doomsday walking to some other direction, away from him, but he was too preoccupied with coughing up blood to notice what was really hapening.

He only noticed when he heard the scream he recognized all too well. His blood turned cold, and his expression hardened.

He looked in time to see Doomsday preparing to hit Sarah – he knew immediately that she didn't have a chance. She might be a badass, and strong as hell. She might be a hand-to-hand. But she didn't stand a chance against Doomsday.

Clark, overflowed with adrenaline, with a final cry, allowed himself to let loose completely. He flew over to Doomsday, and just before he would have hit Sarah, he took off into the air. Doomsday tried to hit him with his elbows and legs and basically everything, but he didn't care. He pushed through the pain, remembering Sarah's terrified eyes. He caught Doomsday by his throat with one hand, the other one gripping his right leg. With a strangled half-cry, half-grunt, with his whole eyes glowing a deep shade of red, Clark started pulling with all of his strength.

Doomsday roared in agony, but Clark didn't care. He pulled and pulled and pulled, before finally, with his sensitive hearing, he heard the muscles in Doomsday's body tear apart, and with one last, final yell, he ripped Doomsday in half.

Clark then stopped mid air and looked at the lifeless body of Doomsday in his hands. He knew he would regenerate soon. It was not an if, it was a when. Clark's half-dazed brain was trying to think of something, before he noticed the large sun of Oa, Sto-Oa. He held his breath and flew outside of the planet atmosphere, reaching outer space in a matter of seconds.

Two minutes later, Clark threw both parts of Doomsday into the sun. He was careful not to let the parts be close to one another, therefore, one part on one side, one part on another side. Satisfied, and with the adrenaline finally flowing out of him, Clark decided to head back to Oa to, hopefully, receive the proper medical attention. His stomach still hurt like hell.

* * *

When Sarah saw Clark ripped Doomsday in half, she couldn't believe it. He ripped him apart. Literally.

She was scared shitless when she saw him fight Doomsday. She was scared even more so when Doomsday managed to send him flying through the buildings. And she was terrrified when Doomsday started hitting Clark in the stomach, making him almost cry out in pain.

But she was absolutely and utterly terrified, scared, horrified and basically every and all synonyms to the words mentioned, when Doomsday came over to her and made his move to kill her.

Her whole life flushed before her eyes – her mother. Tobias. Ria. Frank. Clark's warm smile and his cuddles and kisses. Even Martha and Jonathan Kent.

And then, she heard another cry. This time, it was not from pain. It was from defiance and anger. She felt the signature _whoosh_ , and then, she was looking into Clark's eyes, if even for a split second before he took off into the sky. They were terrified, but not for himself. For her. But the anger in them was something she was not prepared to see.

Sarah was never afraid of Clark, and she sure as hell wouldn't be afraid of him now. Sure, he may be powerful, but he is also the gentlest and the most caring person she has ever met.

„Hey, girlie, are you okay?" she heard someone say. She turned to her left and saw Kyle Rayner, his eyes soft and looking concerned. She nodded, took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair.

„Clark here yet?" she asked.

Kyle prepared to shake his head, but a sonic boom cut him off. Sarah's head immediately whipped around so hard she almost got a whiplash, but she didn't care. She saw Clark land hardly on the ground, creating at least 5 feet sized hole in diameter.

His eyes were still glowing red, but the moment they landed on her, the red dissipated almost immediately. He stood up, and she noticed the cracks in his suit, along with his hand clutching his stomach. He slowly walked towards her, and she took off running and basically collapsed into his chest.

He grunted in pain a little bit, and she let go immediately. „Are you okay? Are you hurt? Where are you hurt?" she asked him, really fast, while scanning his body for injuries with her silvery blue eyes.

„Hey, hey," he said gently, though his voice sounded a little tired, „I'm okay. You're okay. We're okay."

He tried to assure her, and it worked, because the moment he said it, she hugged him tightly again and rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady sound of his still rapidly beating heart. His arms enveloped around her instinctively, and he buried his nose into her hair. He sighed.

„You did it," she said, „I'm proud of you, Clark."

„I-I killed, Sarah. I promised myself I would never kill," he mumbled.

How could she not notice it before? Of course he would feel guilty, even if he had no other choice.

„Clark," she said gently, her cheek resting against his chest, „you had no choice. Doomsday is a soulless killer, you said it yourself. A monster. A killing machine without conscience, without mercy. You had to do this, Clark. I know you feel guilty," she said, „but it will pass. I promise you that. And I will help you with that."

She then looked up at him, her eyes full of trust, love and honesty. She did belive in him, and Clark couldn't be happier to find someone like her.

„How did I even deserve you?" he asked quietly.

Sarah chuckled. „By being you."

Suddenly, Clark's face turned into a pain filled grimace, and he started breathing heavily.

„Clark? Clark?! CLARK!" she yelled, but it was too late. His knees gave up on him, and his grip on her faltered. „KILOWOG! KYLE! HAL! ANYONE! GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE RIGHT NOW! HE NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

She then looked at Clark again, whose face was still scrunched in pain, and she noticed he was clutching his stomach.

 _Doomsday had him by the throat, and started punching Clark in the stomach with all of his strength. Doomsday punched Clark in the stomach three more times, before he threw him away._

„Fucking hell," Sarah mumbled. Internal injuries. She didn't even think of that.

She felt a presence beside her and turned around to find all of the Guardians looking at Clark, a few of them even had concern written on their faces. Sarah put Clark's head in her lap, and let the Guardians do the work. She wouldn't even be able to do anything, with her vision blurred from the tears.

„Come on, Clark," she whispered, „you're tough as hell. A few punches in the stomach won't take you down, will they?"

If she weren't so close to him, she wouldn't even hear it. But she did.

„Like hell am I going to leave you all."

Sarah smiled. Of course he'd think about others before himself. She looked at the Guardians, now accompanied by other Lanterns, some of which were bleeding. They were able to hold Doomsday off while Clark was flying through the buildings.

„Is he going to be alright?" she asked, trying not to let her voice crack or wobble. She failed.

One of the Guardians looked at her, and smiled reassuringly. „There is an internal bleeding – his stomach has been punctured. But with Oan technology and his own healing ability, he will be alright in a couple of hours."

Instead of moving Clark, they decided to bring the technology to him. „We need to get this suit off of him," said one of the Lanterns she recognized as Tomar-Re – he looked like a fish a little bit.

Sarah nodded and took Clark's hand before putting it on the emblem on his chest. Slowly, the nanobots started to retract itself into the emblem, leaving Clark only in his boxers. She winced at the sight of his bare stomach, which was full of deep purple bruises, though they were already fading.

„He needs sunlight," she said immediately.

„Come on, poozer, let's get some solar lamps," suggested Kilowog before putting his arms around Hal Jordan and driving him away. Hal rolled his eyes, but followed him nonetheless.

„Don't worry, sweetheart," whispered Sarah into Clark's ear, „once you wake up, you won't be alone."

* * *

Clark opened his eyes, and was startled by the pure white light. He groaned. Almost immediately, the light was turned off. Finally able to open his eyes properly, he was a little bit surprised to see solar lamps above him, very similar to those in his Fortress.

„Wha?" he asked a little groggily. His throat felt a little dry.

When he tried to sit up, a small and gentle hand on his back guided him. He'd know that touch anywhere.

„Sarah?" he asked. He turned around and indeed, there she was. She looked a little worse for wear, but she still looked beautiful to him. He was convinced even more of that fact when she smiled at him – a big, toothy grin, with the corners of her eyes crinkling and her beautiful eyes alight with happiness and relief.

She stood up from the chair and tackled him in a hug.

„If you ever do something like this again, Kent, I swear to God I'll—"

She was cut off when Clark kissed her. She didn't complain, but did the exact opposite – she sighed happily, and Clark grinned into the kiss. Damn that boy – as if the butterflies in her stomach from the stress weren't enough.

Once they broke apart, Sarah caressed his cheek and kissed his forehead affectionately. She then completely broke away from him and sat down on the chair next to his bed, though she still held his hand in a death grip. A lesser man's hand would probably be bruised.

„What happened?" he asked her.

She sighed and explained everything to him, including the part about the internal bleeding. Clark then took off the comforters and looked at his bare stomach – it looked alright. No bruises, no scars, no swelling, nothing.

„How long was I out?"

„Uh, 4.5 hours," she said after checking her watch.

Clark then grinned mischievously and outstretched his arms. She rolled her eyes, but obeyed and laid with him on the bed. Clark sighed in contentment while she rested her head in the crook of his neck.

„You really scared me, you know that, right?" she mumbled. Clark nodded.

„I'm sorry."

„No, it's alright," she said almost immediately, „I knew what I signed up for when I discovered who you really are. I knew it was not going to be easy, and I still know that. And it's okay. Just know that I was scared shitless."

Clark felt a little guilty at that, so he just held her a little tighter and kissed the top of her head.

„Perry is going to kill me," he mumbled then. Sarah cackled a little bit.

„What?"

„Clark, I'm pretty sure the man already knows who you really are."

He rolled his eyes. „Everyone knows who I really am, don't they? Have to think of a better disguise."

„Well, if you started to hunch a little and wore baggier clothes—"

He cut her off with a kiss.

* * *

 **Please, let me know what you think of this chapter in your reviews, I appreciate every single one of them!**

 **Just so you know: the Guardians are a little bit OOC in this story, I think. I haven't read any Green Lanterns stories with the Guardians and I only use the live action movie and some animated movies as a basic characterization.**

 **Alright, see ya next time:)**


	36. Chapter 36 - Safe

**Hey, it's me again! Oh, don't pout, you! :D Anyway, sorry it took me this long to write a new chapter. I just got into a new TV show (well, new.. Teen Wolf), and it's amazing and I just kind of.. turned off everything else. And I'm sorry for that. Anyway, this is a chapter I've been planing to write for a long time and I hope you'll like it:)**

 **Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own the cinnamon roll and pure being that is Clark Joseph Kent.**

* * *

Chapter 36 - Safe

On the insistence of both the Guardians of the Universe and the rest of the Green Lanterns, they stayed for another three days – just in time for Clark to heal completely from his wounds under the artificial lamps after his battle with Doomsday.

Clark and Sarah arrived home almost two days ago, and Clark decided it was time for him to join the land of the living again, figuratively speaking. And so, that's how he found himself in Metropolis again, in front of the Daily Planet building, wearing a loose-fitting flannel shirt, per Sarah's insistence, a pair or chinos and his leather jacket, accompanied by his glasses made out of Kryptonian metal and lenses, capable of changing his eye color from inhumane blue to classic cerulean.

He took a deep breath and entered the building.

* * *

When the elevator door opened, Clark was assaulted by the familiar buzz and chaos most people would expect in a place like this.

„CK, is that you?"

Clark turned around and grinned when he turned around at the sound of the familiar nickname, and hugged Jimmy Olsen.

„Hey, man, how are you?" asked Clark after they pulled away.

„Oh, same old, same old. Perry's blood pressure is as high as always, and Lois is as sharp as ever. We kind of missed you, though. You've been gone for almost two weeks. To be honest, I thought you were dead for a second," he answered, with a little laugh at the end. He gripped Clark's elbow in his hand and started pulling him to the desk of one and only, Lois Lane.

„Hey, Lois. I brought you a stray," he said teasingly, „might know him. Intern. 6'5. 17 years old. Black hair. Blue eyes. Glasses..."

Lois turned around immediately after the heard Jimmy say Clark's age, and grinned widely and genuinely – a grin people do not see on Lois Lane's face that often. She stood up and hugged Clark – again, something people do not see with Lois Lane, as she is not much of a fan of physical contact with co-workers – the exception being Clark and Jimmy, of course. And sometimes Jenny.

„Been a long time, Smallville," she whispered.

Clark chuckled and hugged her back. „I've been gone for two weeks, Lois."

She shrugged. „Yeah. Two weeks too long," she teased, „I had to go for my coffee to the break room myself."

„Uh, not to ruin the moment, Ms. Lane," interrupted Jimmy, „but the summer is ending in like a week."

„So?" she asked, confused, after the hug ended.

„So," added Clark, „my internship ends with it. Lois, I've still got school."

„Oh, right," she said. She shrugged, and Clark laughed. „Gonna enjoy the coffee for as long as I can. Which reminds me, Smallville... hang your jacket here," she motioned to the chair right next to her desk, usually occupied by Clark during his breaks, or by Jimmy, „and bring me my coffee."

„Sure thing, Lois."

It was good to be back again.

* * *

Clark has just finished his shift in the Daily Planet and was preparing for his usual patrol when his Justice League comm-link buzzed.

„ _Superman, come in."_

Clark touched the ear-piece and answered, „Superman here."

„ _Good to have you back, big blue,"_ came the voice of Wally West, and Clark smiled. _„Have any plans for tonight?"_

„It's 6 PM, Small Red," teased Clark. If Wally can call him Big Blue, well, Clark figured he can give him his own nickname. He heard Wally groan and he laughed.

„ _Answer the question."_

Clark sighed. „Yes and no. My girlfriend is spending some time with her family, and my parents have gone to some farming convention in Central City." He swore he could hear Wally say _sweet_ after he said the city his parents went to, „Anyway. I wanted to fly home, eat something and then do a full-night patrol in Metropolis. Why?"

„ _Well, I, unlike you, have a monitor duty tonight. I thought we could order some pizza and... okay, I'm lonely and I want someone to talk to. You don't have to cut your whole patrol.. just for like.. two hours? If something big happens, I'll at least have help. What do you say?"_

Clark thought about it. Truth be told, he didn't spend any time with his other friends lately, excluding Sarah, and he would probably enjoy talking to Wally. From the whole League, he, Wally and Vic somehow get along the best. Maybe it's because of their similar age – Clark is seventeen, Cyborg is nineteen and Wally is twenty-two. They are basically the youngest members of the League, with Clark being the absolute youngest.

„Alright. Under two conditions," said Clark eventually.

„ _Shoot."_

Clark smiled at the memory of telling a cop the entire same thing almost two months ago. He accompanied the word with _not me_.

„One. You order the pizzas and somehow get them to the tower. I have to fly up there, and I have a feeling the pizzas wouldn't handle the vacuum very well," Wally agreed, „and two – I don't like mushrooms."

„ _Huh?"_ asked Wally, confused.

„On the pizza, Wally," clarified Clark. „See you in a few."

* * *

„So," said Wally after taking the third bite of his prosciutto pizza – he decided to order six boxes, because of his and Clark's metabolisms, „what are you planning to do after high school?"

They were both maskless, as everyone in the League knew each other's identity.

This question caught Clark off-guard, and he choked on his slice. Wally giggled – _giggled_ – and patted him on the back. Not that it helped.

Eventually, Clark managed to answer. „What do you mean?"

Wally rolled his eyes. „Clark, you are seventeen. You'll be starting your senior year in a week. You must have a plan of some sorts."

Clark would've made a sarcastic comment about pointing out the obvious, but he bit his tongue. His Ma raised him better than that. „Actually, I could've graduated in my junior year. My GPA was good enough, and I had a lot of credits. And I don't know why I just told you that."

Wally smiled and encouraged him to keep going. To be honest, Clark felt like a mystery to not only Wally, but most of the League. Sure, he was the newest member, along with some others, but he was by far the most powerful. And the youngest. An alien. The last survivor of his spieces – of his planet. Of his kind. A teenager with the power to cripple mountains, and perhaps even entire worlds. And yet, he lives a normal teenage life, with a girlfriend, friends, and school. They know little about him.

Some members of the League, such as Diana, Victor and Wally decided to try to include Clark as much as they could, and be friends with him outside of the League. Not just colleagues, or fellow heroes. Friends.

„That's alright. I am actually interested. Keep going," he encouraged.

So, Clark continued, „I have my father's intellect, basically. Everything, and I mean literally everything, on Earth, is simple for me. Nuclear Astrophysics? Easy. Sports? Don't even get me started. I can remember every moment of my life – every second of every minute of every hour of every day. That includes theory. Everything just comes too..."

„Easy?" added Wally helpfully. Clark nodded.

„Yeah. I can learn a full language in an hour – vocabulary, accent, grammar. Everything. The only thing that doesn't come easy for me is.. writing. Telling people's stories. Formulating words. Sentences. Paragraphs. Stories. And I guess.. I guess that's what I want to do. To tell people's stories – to help spread the word," he said, while looking down at the floor, his hands on his knees.

Wally was impressed. Here before him sat a kid. Just a kid, seventeen years old, who's been through so much in a few short months he's been acting as the blue clad hero. He's seen death, and rape, and slavery. He's seen the darkness of this world, and yet he still remains hopeful, and kind, and strong.

Wally's never been good with deep conversations. Usually, he is just the comic relief, full of sarcasm and inappropriate jokes while fighting crime, annoying the hell out of other villains. So, he decided to take a route similar to that.

„Then do it," he said easily.

Clark looked at him, impossibly blue eyes staring into his green ones. „Yeah, do it. It's your life, Clark. Sure, you have responsibility as Superman. You are a hero. But Clark, you don't have to be what you don't want to be. Don't want to be a scientist? Don't want to be a sportsman? Then don't be. Clark, you have so much potential... you can be whatever you want. So be it."

He smiled. „Thanks, Wally."

Wally smiled in return and patted his shoulder. „Now, let's talk about something else. How about your favorite TV show? Or a book?"

Clark's grin grew impossibly wide, and Wally knew he hit the right note. Wally is a nerd, and by the looks of it, the Kryptonian hero is one, too.

They spent almost two hours talking about their favorite TV shows – Clark's favorites included _Breaking Bad, Teen Wolf, The Walking Dead_ and _Chuck._

„I really didn't like the end of Chuck, to be honest," admitted Wally. Clark nodded in agreement.

„Yeah. I didn't like it much, either, to be honest. I mean.. such an open ending? The writers knew all too well that the fifth season was going to be the last, and they did it anyway."

Wally did a double-take. Did Superman just pout? Yeah, he did. He immediately took his phone and snapped a picture before Clark had the chance to do anything, which is sad, considering he has superspeed, too.

„What the—?" asked Clark, though he was trying not to laugh.

„Never going to let you live this down, Kent. Never," said Wally.

They both laughed, and Clark looked at the clock. 9:30 PM. He stood up.

„I should probably go. Gotta start my patrol. You free tomorrow?"

„Yeah, why?" asked Wally.

Clark grinned. „Because tomorrow, I have monitor duty. You can bring Vic along."

Wally shrugged and nodded in agreement. Clark seemed to like Vic – they talked about the newest technology a lot. And football, which Clark apparently really liked. „Alright. Good luck, and break a neck."

„I'd rather not," he said. Wally rolled his eyes and fist-bumped Clark.

„Just go."

* * *

The night was admittedly pretty quiet, which is saying something in Metropolis. In one hour, Clark managed to stop two muggings, one robbery, during which the thieves tried to run away. They found themselves in the back of a police car not five minutes later.

Now, Clark was flying over the suburban area of Metropolis – the one where families lived in houses with white fences and swings. Clark couldn't help but hope that he would have something like that in the future – a family of his own. He knew it wasn't possible – he knew he couldn't have kids. At least not with a human.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when his extrasensitive hearing picked up the sound of a breaking glass and a yelp of pain, accompanied by a woman's scream. Clark immediately changed his direction and flew to the source of the sound – a little suburban house at the end of the street.

Clark was pretty high up, probably over 200 feet, but with his telescopic and x-ray vision, he could see inside the house, and the sight made his blood boil and his eyes glow the deepest shade of red.

He immediately ascended, almost breaking the sound barrier by the sheer speed of his landing alone. The pavement cracked, but Clark didn't care. His fists were clenched so hard he was afraid he would draw blood even with his invulnerability.

With his x-ray vision still activated, he saw a drunk man, holding a broken bottle of beer in his hand, and two people cowering away from him, one – the bigger one – trying to shield the other. The man was yelling, and Clark was sure that he would be able to hear it even without his sensitive hearing.

The man raised the hand with the bottle in it, and prepared to strike the woman.

Clark didn't even bother stopping to kick down the door, he just walked straight through it. It was late at night, and the house was pretty dark – only two lamps in the corners of the room were alight. His eyes were literally steaming red smoke, but he didn't notice.

The man, however, did, and it seemed that he didn't care, either. He just looked angrier.

„Wha' you doin'?!" he yelled, „do y'have any idea how ex..," he stuttered a little and hiccuped, „ _expensive_ the door were?"

Clark stopped and looked at the two figures – only now did he realize that it was, most likely, his wife and his daughter. They were still cowering, but the woman had a look of determination in her eyes. She looked at Clark, and he nodded at her and motioned with his hand to the phone, silently telling her to call the police. She seemed to convey the message and nodded.

Unfortunately, that left her daughter unprotected.

The man seemed to forget about Clark being in the room, because the moment he noticed his daughter, unshielded by her mother, he took a few sloppy steps toward her.

„So.. _babygirl_ ," he said with a drunken, yet cruel smile. The child cowered away from him, making Clark rigid. „Ready f'r your birthday present?"

It was the little girl's birthday. And the abusive excuse for a man decided to beat her. Her and her mother. His own wife.

The time seemed to slow down and Clark saw the man's raised bottle hand, preparing to strike his daughter in the face. Clark supersped in front of the girl, effectively shielding her and catching the man's hand, before gently squeezing. Hearing the soft _pop_ of the man's bone and his scream of pain, he gently punched the man in the gut, resulting in him toppling over and coughing up a little bit of blood.

Clark caught the man by the collar of his shirt and when the mean looked into his eyes with slightly unaware, but fearful ones, he decided to end his misery, and flicked his fingers on his forehead, effectively knocking him out cold.

Clark looked at the woman – she looked to be in her late twenties, and even with the bruise on her cheek and her swollen eye, he could tell that she was really beautiful. She looked at him and nodded.

„I called the police," she said. She then looked at her daughter and then back at Clark. „She loves you, you know?"

Clark tore his gaze away from the mother and looked at her daughter. She looked around five years old, a little bit underweight for her height, that much he could tell even from the position she was still in, with her knees up to her chest, head on her knees and dark brown hair covering her face.

The scene somehow reminded him of Sarah, who, Clark realized, must've looked liked this really often when she was a child. Sarah, his strong, beautiful Sarah, regularly abused by her own father as a child. Sarah, whose mother and brother were killed by the hands of her own father. Sarah, the strongest person he's ever known in his fairly short life.

Clark shook his head and with that, he shook himself out of his thoughts. He carefully approached the little girl, and while he knew that he looked fairly intimidating in his suit, he also knew that somehow, this little girl would not be scared of him.

He knelt down in front of her and gently touched her shoulder, and his heart squeezed when she flinched from his touch. He decided to take a different approach.

„Hey," he said as gently and quietly as he could, while making sure she still heard him. „You're okay. He's not going to hurt you. Ever again. I promise," he said, while he looked at the man passed out on the floor. He will make sure to keep that promise he just gave to the little girl.

He looked back at the little girl, who now lifted her head up, and he saw a pair of curious, wide green eyes looking up at him. She didn't say anything, and neither did he, but when she slowly reached her little hand out to him, he didn't make a move to stop her. And when her small hand touched the symbol of his chest, he covered it with his own, while smiling gently.

„Do you know what that symbol means?" he asked softly. She shook her head, her gaze fixed on him. „Would you like to know?"

She nodded at him. „It is my family's coat of arms," he said, and smiled at her bewildered expression. „It also means _hope_. Even in the darkest of times. It means that even if you think there is nothing you can do, and that nothing gets better, there is always hope. It gives me the strength to never give up. And I hope it will give you the strength to never give up, too."

The girl looked at him, while stroking the S on his chest with her thumb. „Malia," she whispered.

Clark smiled. „I hope this symbol will give you the strength to never give up, Malia. Because believe it or not, your darkest times are finally over," he said, this time, a little louder, so that her mother could hear, too, but his voice remained soft and gentle nonetheless. „And if you need me, just call for me. Call for Kal. And I'll know that you need help. Even if it's just to talk. Promise?"

Malia smiled at him. „Promise, Kal."

Clark smiled. This little girl, while surviving so much, still managed to smile at him. She let go of the symbol and outstretched her arms. Clark smiled gently and enveloped her in his arms. He sat down, leaned on the awll and put the little girl on his lap and let her snuggle into his chest.

A few minutes later, he heard her breathing even out, and he smiled. Malia was safe in his arms. He looked up and saw the mother looking at both of them with a small smile on her own. She sat down next to him.

„Malia is a strong girl," whispered Clark eventually while drawing small circles on the sleeping girl's back with her thumb. „She reminds me of a girl I know. Strong as hell, and even fiercer, yet so gentle and caring."

Her mother looked at him and gave him a knowing smile. „Thank you."

„For what?"

„For saving us. Jack's been like this since he lost his job. I tried to get him out of this. Even Malia tried to get him out of this, though she didn't know what was happening. You see those bags?" she whispered as she motioned to a pair of bags Clark didn't notice the first time he scanned the house.

„You were trying to move away," whispered Clark. It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

She only nodded. „Yeah. Came home with Malia from work today and he was already drunk. I should've tried to sneak away or something, but I just couldn't resist the temptation to.."

„You don't need to say anything, ma'am," assured Clark. „You are safe now," he looked down at the sleeping form of Malia, „as is she. And my promise extends to you, too. If you need help, just call for me. For Kal, not Superman."

She smiled at him. „My name's Elena – if I can call you Kal, you call me Elena."

„Pleasure to meet you, Elena."

Elena looked at Malia and gave the sleeping girl and affectionate smile. „She hasn't slept this peacefully in a long time."

„Nightmares?" Clark guessed, his voice sad.

Elena nodded.

Clark suddenly heard the police sirens outside. „The police are here."

She sighed and stood up, but he caught her wrist gently. „I can deal with that, if you'd like."

Elena sighed again and looked at her sleeping daughter. „No, let her sleep. God knows she deserves it after the hell she's been through."

Clark resisted the urge to say that she's been through the same thing. He just nodded and let her go outside.

* * *

To say that the policeman was surprised when he saw Superman himself sitting on the floor with a sleeping girl in his arms would be an understatement.

Officer Calleigh was ready to ask Superman what he was doing here, but he held up a hand before he could even open his arms and motioned to the sleeping girl, while also putting his finger on his lips. Calleigh took the hint.

He pulled out his walkie-talkie and whispered, „Ramirez, get your ass in here. We've got a drunk male to lift up and a sleeping girl in Superman's arms, so we have to be quiet. Don't answer me, it will probably wake her up. Over."

Ten seconds later, a huge latino officer entered the house quietly. He took one look at Superman, smiled at him, gave him a thumbs up and made his way over to the man lying on the ground. With the help of officer Calleigh, he lifted up the man and carried him outside, leaving Superman and the girl alone in the house.

* * *

Clark gently stroked Malia's hair while looking at her through his x-ray vision, scanning for any possible internal injury she could have acquired during the time of her father's abuse. He was glad he found none. What disturbed him was the scarred tissue on her abdomen and her back. She's been through a lot. He also scanned Elena for any internal injuries, and also found none. He didn't look for any scars, and that would be an invasion of her privacy, for he would be looking at her bare form.

He checked outside through the walls and discovered a few news vans with reporters and cameramen waiting outside. He hoped none of them would come inside, which they probably won't. Or they'd have to deal with him.

Clark felt his phone vibrate. He gently unwrapped one arm from Malia's form and took the phone out of his cape. He saw one text message from Sarah. He opened it and smiled at the text.

 _Saw the news. I'm proud of you. Love you. -S_

He looked down at Malia, sleeping peacefully, and promised himself that he would be here all night, in the same position, if that's what it took for the girl to have a good night's sleep.

* * *

 **So, that's it for this chapter. I hope you liked it:) Please, feel free to leave a review with your thoughts:)**


	37. Chapter 37 - Campfire

**Hey, guys! Okay, this chapter is a little on the shorter side, but hey, it's pretty fluffy, a little bit angsty (only a little), and it has Superman in it! :D**

 **Anyway, I hope you'll like this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman. Would be too awesome otherwise.**

* * *

Chapter 37 - Campfire

The school was starting tomorrow and Clark, Sarah and a few other future seniors decided to spend the last day of summer near the lake, enjoying the day, grilling, swimming and generally have a good time. Sarah was currently clad in a pair of red bikinis, lying on a towel and reading a _A Brief History of Time_ by Stephen Hawking, while Clark was soaking up the sun right next to her with his eyes closed, wearing a pair of blue swim trunks.

When Clark first saw Sarah in the bikinis, he thought he might pass out. He also noticed the trail of faint, thin scars running across her thighs and a little bit of stomach, and he couldn't help but admire her confidence, something which he voiced out loud, and getting a big smile and a kiss in response.

Moreover, Sarah wasn't a saint, either. She'd checked Clark out many times before in the past, and she wasn't very subtle about it, either, but there weren't many occasions where she saw him shirtless – a sight she truly enjoyed. Very, very much.

Sarah looked at Clark from the corner of her eye, seeing him in the exact same position he was in 15 minutes ago – lying on his back, hands behind his head, a content smile on his face. He told her some time ago that when the sun is shining at him, he feels a little tingle all over his body, something that made her laugh, and eventually, him, too.

„Hey, lovebirds!" someone shouted. Both of them whipped around to look in the direction of the voice, and both rolled their eyes when they realized it was Whitney, a shit-eating grin plastered across his face, „how 'bout a little swim?"

Sarah rolled her eyes once more and stood up, offering Clark a hand. He smiled and accepted it. Together, they made their way over to the lake. Clark then took her hand in his and tugged it, gesturing to the pier. Sarah smiled and followed him, not noticing his mischievous smile.

They stood at the end of it when she did. She looked at the water and then back at him. „Don't you fucking dare, Kent!"

Her threat was met with the widening of Clark's grin, before he lifted her up, making her squeal in surprise, and threw her into the water.

Clark was met with a murderous glare when she emerged, making her look so terrifying that even he took a few steps back. „You are so dead."

Sarah then realized that he wasn't taking the steps back only because he was afraid of her, but because he was also preparing to jump. Not even a few seconds later, she saw him running on the pier and jump at least 10 feet in the air, before gracefully diving in.

She felt something tug at her leg, and she instinctively kicked it. And it felt like she was hitting a freaking concrete.

„Clark," she said. Clark then caught her by her ankle and sank her down with him. Luckily, he gave her a few seconds to take a deep breath, before making her lose it entirely when he kissed her underwater. She wrapped her legs around his waist while he put both of his hands on her face.

Sarah, not being a Kryptonian, or an Atlantean, or whatever species that could hold their breath for long, ran out of air pretty quickly. They both emerged, though her legs still stayed wrapped around his waist. Clark wasn't moving with his legs at all, and she realized he must've been using his ability to fly. Her lips quirked up a little at that.

„You know, Clark," she started, his hands still on her face, „you can be a real dick sometimes."

Clark laughed, making her smile, before he kissed her again. And then they were splashed by a few other people who decided to copy Clark's jump – except for the graceful dive, apparently.

„Oh, come on," mumbled Sarah.

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

Once the sun went down, the teenagers dressed and decided to start a campfire. Sarah was sitting next to Clark, on her left were Lana and Whitney, while on Clark's right were Pete and Chloe. Sarah snuggled into him, mumbling about being cold and him being like a furnace. Her personal Kryptonian heater, she whispered, knowing that he would hear her. And she was right. She closed her eyes and hummed in content with a small smile, melting Clark a little on the inside.

„Hey, sweetie, are you tired?" whispered Clark into her ear. She shrugged in response, snuggling further into him.

Clark put his arm around her shoulder and noticed that Mark and a few other people were looking at them. He sent them a questioning look.

Mark pointed at them with a sausage. „You guys," he said, mouth full of food, „are relationship goals."

Clark felt Sarah shaking from laughter, so he decided to add into it by tickling her side. She punched him in the shoulder. He rolled his eyes, smiling at her affectionately.

„So, I take that as a no to my question," he said, and she shrugged again, sending him a sweet smile.

„Alright, time for some songs!" yelled Pete. Everyone around the fire groaned. Only when Chloe started singing _Impossible_ by Shontelle did they start laughing.

„What?" she stopped, giving them a glare, „We ain't singing any campfire songs!"

Everyone then shrugged, nodded and started singing along. Those not knowing the lyrics at least provided the sound effects.

And then it was time for Sarah to join.

„ _Falling out of love is hard_ _  
_ _Falling for betrayal is worst_ _  
_ _Broken trust and broken hearts_ _  
_ _I know, I know._ _"_

Her voice was angelic, and so full of emotion that brought tears into Clark's eyes. He tightened his arms around her, a silent promise. He noticed she had tears in her eyes, too. He kissed her temple and let his lips linger there, letting her know that he was there, and he was not leaving her. She wrapped her arm around his waist and squeezed it hard, bruising him if he were human.

Others continued to sing, not noticing the silent communication between the couple, something both of them were grateful for. Sarah then unwrapped her arm and Clark started to let her go, but she said, "Not yet."

And so, Clark tightened his hold on her again while she was looking at the tattoo on her wrist, letting a small smile appear on her face. _Per aspera ad astra._ Through the hardships to the stars. When she looked at Clark, who was looking at her with a gaze so powerful, so full of love, and caring, and concern, she was sure the stars had sent him to her. Clark, the last survivor of his world, of his species, who is the most human of them all – with his infinite amount of compassion, trust, and optimism, something she herself sometimes lacks a lot. His gaze turned into a questioning look, and she smiled at him reassuringly before leaning in and capturing her lips with his own, whispering an _I love you_ into them. She felt him smile against her lips. When they broke apart, he whispered into her ear, "I love you, too."

"I like the sound of that," she whispered, her lips a little bit swollen from the kissing, making them, in Clark's humble opinion, even more kissable.

"You're going to hear it a lot in the future," he whispered in return, before giving her a light peck on the lips.

 _I really hope so,_ she thought.

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Sarah eventually fell asleep on Clark's shoulder, basically curled up into him. Once the fire started to die down, the teenagers decided to call it a night and head home. It was pretty late, as it was really dark already, and they had school tomorrow. The last first day of high school.

Clark, after saying goodbyes and not having the heart to wake his girlfriend up, picked her up into his arms bridal-style and carried her basically into his parents' old pick-up truck. While he tried his hardest not to wake her and drive slowly, she woke up anyway. After stretching like a cat and letting out a little yawn, she noticed Clark looking at her from the corner of his eye with an amused smile.

"Wha'?" she asked sleepily, though her mind was pretty sharp already.

"You look adorable," he said.

She rolled her eyes and said in a mocking voice, "I'm terrifying. Fear me!"

"You're cute," he said. She growled a little, making her sound like a kitten. "Yup. Completely and utterly adorable."

He intervened their fingers, using his unoccupied hand, and the mock-irritation from her face disappeared. "Thank you."

He turned to look at her, "For what?"

"For.. assuring me, even without words," she said while looking at their intervened fingers.. Clark understood it immediately and tightened his hold on her hand.

"I'm always going to be there for you when it counts, you know that, right?" he asked. "I know I can't be always with you.. with me being a superhero and all that," he let out a dry little laugh, "but when you need me, I'll always be there. No matter what. Okay?"

She smiled. "Okay."

When he focused his attention back to the road, still holding her hand, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "And I'm always going to be there for you, Clark. No matter what."

Clark decided to say hello to Sarah's guardians, assuming they were still up, considering the lights were still on, and walked with her to the front door. Sarah had to knock, as she somehow forgot the take her keys a few hours prior.

Before she knocked, however, she turned around and looked up at him. It was funny, she wasn't even that small. She was 5'6 (she grew a little over the past few months), and yet he was still almost a whole foot taller than her. She grabbed him by the back of his neck and forced him, or rather, indicated him to, lean downward and kiss her. She closed her eyes, enjoying the warm feeling.

They've been together for almost half a year – funny, it seemed a lot longer than that – and every time she saw him, her whole body tingled, something akin to his description of the sun shining on him.

"Good night," he whispered, his forehead on hers.

"Good night."

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Clark barely made it home before his League communicator started buzzing.

"Superman here," said Clark after touching the earpiece.

" _We have a situation in Star City downtown – a government organization called A.R.G.U.S. decided to bring Green Arrow in, and you're the only one who can make it there in time besides the Flash, who is currently inaccessible,"_ said Batman.

"Got it," said Clark.

A few seconds later, a sonic boom could be heard.

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"Why are you after me? I'm a member of the Justice League. We have a deal with the government!" yelled Oliver Queen, also known as Green Arrow, at the agents.

They didn't answer, but they were closing. Ollie ran out of arrows a few minutes ago, and even with his hand-to-hand abilities, he didn't stand a chance against dozen highly trained agents of A.R.G.U.S.

So, when Ollie heard a sonic boom right above him, he had the sudden urge to grin. And he did exactly that. He watched a few moments later as the agents' eyes focused on something above him and widened almost right after that. Ollie just continued to grin.

"Green Arrow is a member of the Justice League," said Superman, his voice cool, "and as a member of the Justice League, he is allowed to patrol and stop criminals. The U.S. Government agreed. You are a government organization. So, unless you are willing to fight me right here, right now, I suggest you leave. _Immediately._ "

Superman's pupils started to glow red, and apparently, the agents took his threat seriously, for they all backed down and started to leave. One of the agents, however, stepped forward and addressed Superman directly.

"It's not over, alien. You might be a member of the League, but you aren't human. And as an alien organism, you have no rights," the agent said, and Ollie felt a sudden chill run down his back. Even Superman seemed surprised at this, but regained his bearings almost immediately, his expression turning so cold it would be able to freeze Firestorm.

"Anything else you'd like to say, agent?" he asked, his voice even colder than his expression. The agent, previously so confident, turned around and walked away, with rather long steps.

"Thanks, man," said Ollie once they were clear, addressing Superman.

"Why would they want you, Ollie?" he asked, his expression turning into a friendly one, though Ollie could see something in his eyes.

" _As an alien organism, you have no rights."_

"No idea," he answered, "but I think they might not be after me."

* * *

 **Alright, so.. what are your thoughts? :)**

 **I decided to make Sarah a little bit taller than in the first chapters, where she was 5'4 (163cm) if I remember correctly, simply because the height difference was a bit too much. 5'6 is the ideal height for her in comparison to Clark _and_ is a real possibility of growing. I hope.**

 **5'6 - approximately 168cm**

 **Alright, see ya around:)**


	38. Chapter 38 - ARGUS

**Hi! So, here I am again, with yet another chapter. Big thanks to Mellia Bee for explaining me American Educational System - it was a huge help! :)**

 **I rewrote this chapter like three times, and I'm still not sure if I'm completely happy with it. Well.. :D**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my OCs.**

* * *

Chapter 38 - A.R.G.U.S.

A few days ago, Clark decided that he would walk with her to school, and she didn't protest. She wasn't the clingy type of girlfriend, but she really liked spending time with him. This morning, however, he really seemed like something was bothering him. He tended to overthink things, a little side effect of his Kryptonian brain, as it's trying to find patterns and analyze everything everywhere.

Clark was a very tactile person, there was no doubt about that. He wasn't possessive or anything of the sorts, but he just liked to be in some sort of physical contact with her, be it hugs, cuddling, or just hand-holding. And she didn't fail to notice that today, he gripped his hand a little bit stronger than normal. Not nearly strong enough to hurt her or be uncomfortable, but strong enough for her to notice.

"Clark, are you okay?" she asked. He was quiet, which was never a good sign. Sometimes, she wondered if he had ADHD or was just plain hyperactive, because he'd talk her ear off in a matter of hours. A treat she found strangely attractive.

"Clark?" she asked again and squeezed his hands. His eyes were unfocused, as if he wasn't even there. And she realized that he probably wasn't. She stopped abruptly, and Clark, noticing the lack of her hand in his, came to his senses and stopped, too.

"Sarah? What's going on?" he asked as he turned around.

"I'd like to ask you the same question, Clark. Are you okay?"

"Me? Uh, yeah. Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" he tried to sound nonchalant, but there was still the false, forced cheer in his voice.

"Clark," she stepped closer to him, "firstly, I know when you're lying. Except when you're in that Kryptonian mode of yours. I know when something's bothering you. It's like you have a dark cloud over your head. If I can talk to you about my problems, you can talk to me about yours. Trust is a two-way street."

They were standing in the middle of the sidewalk, but neither one of them noticed. Clark's hands instinctively curled around her waist as he brought her closer to him while she put hers on his shoulders.

He took a steadying breath, though it came a bit shaky.

"It's—it's nothing. Just something an agent of A.R.G.U.S. said to me yesterday," he said quietly.

Sarah looked at him questioningly. "A.R.G.U.S.?"

"A government organization, something similar to D.E.O. or C.I.A. I read about it in the League database. It's led by a woman named Amanda Waller, and supposedly, Luthor does some occasional work for them as well."

"Oh," she said, before her gaze turned serious again. "What did the agent say to you?"

Clark closed his eyes again, and whispered the exact same line the agent told him literally just a few hours ago, _"As an alien organism, you have no rights."_

Sarah's eyes flashed angrily. She knew very well that sometimes, Clark still doubted his humanity, and whether he wanted to or not, he wears his heart on his sleeve. Clark is thick-skinned – he never lets people's opinions of him cloud his judgement, or worse, get to him. But this one hit a nerve.

"Clark," she said, her voice sounding strangely protective, as she put her hands on the sides of his face, "you might be an alien, but you are human. You were raised as one of us. You _are_ one of us. You have rights, just like everyone else. You'll probably have this on your mind for a long time, but try not to think about it. Please. You are human. To me, to your parents, to your friends. You are the most human of us all."

She kissed him, and Clark felt his negative thoughts slowly melting away, being replaced by the familiar warm feeling he gets every time this girl says something smart. Or anything at all. He let himself melt into the kiss, subconsciously bringing her closer to him, pulling her flush against his chest. He smiled against her lips.

She smiled at him when she pulled away and intervened their fingers. "You can always talk to me, Clark."

He smiled at her and nodded, giving her a silent promise. "Ready to go?"

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The first day was highly uneventful. The teachers were usually just reading the syllabus before giving each student one. Clark, having almost all of his classes AP, quickly scanned the syllabi and learned that he already knew most of the stuff.

He was happy to find out that Sarah was in most of his classes, even though both of them wanted to study completely different subjects. Clark took AP World History, AP English Language and Composition, AP Calculus BC and AP Biology. Clark figured that he could find a use for the Chemistry classes for his superhero persona, while the others are mostly needed to pursue his career in journalism.

Plus, he could use the few classes he shares with Sarah as an excuse for study dates.

Sarah, on the other hand, decided to take AP Chemistry, AP Biology and AP Physics to pursue her career as a biologist.

"4 AP courses? Are you crazy, Kent?" asked Whitney during lunch.

"A little, yeah," answered Clark easily. Sarah and Lana stifled a laugh beside him.

"It's your doom," said Whitney, and Clark barked out a laugh. "So, what college you wanna go to?"

"Metropolis University," answered both Sarah and Clark at the same time. They high-fived. Whitney rolled his eyes.

"What about you?" asked Clark.

Whitney shrugged. "Not sure. They offered me a football scholarship for Gotham and Ivy University last year. I still don't know where to go," he admitted. Lana put her hand over his and squeezed with a soft smile.

"You'll figure it out," she said.

"By the way, Sarah, honey, you know you could most likely get in to Stanford or even Harvard, right?" said Lana.

Sarah shrugged. "Yeah, but it's closer to home. Plus, Metropolis University offers the best Biology program in the States."

Clark nodded. "And the best journalism program, too."

"So, I see your internship in the Planet brought out some passion out of you," stated Lana with a teasing smile. Clark rolled his eyes and drank his water.

"Yeah, Clark. What did you do there, anyway?" asked Whitney, his voice curious and his gaze even more so, as he leaned forward.

Clark shrugged a little. "Not much. Just doing copies, carrying coffee, pointing out Lois' spelling errors, talking to Perry… you know, the usual."

"Lois as in Lois Lane?" asked Lana. Clark nodded.

"Yep."

"Nice," she whispered. Clark grinned.

Sarah noticed a couple of girls looking at Clark and giggling to themselves from the corner of her eye and rolled her eyes before she joined the conversation.

"Perry liked you a lot, didn't he?" asked Sarah.

"Well, he let me write a few short articles and then said that he's going to recruit me the moment I come out of high school…" he said with a little blush, and Sarah kissed him on the cheek. He kissed her knuckles. "You'll make a really hot reporter."

Clark blushed. Harder. And then grinned at her.

"Goals," whispered Lana quietly while Whitney nodded. Clark almost choked on his own spit as he tried not to laugh. Clark saw Sarah shaking from laughter.

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Clark came home only to find the house empty, which was highly unusual. His parents usually told him, or at least texted him, that they wouldn't be home. Something wasn't adding up, and Clark's stomach tightened. He immediately scanned the house, but nothing seemed out of place, except for a broken vase with blood on it. Clark's eyes widened a little bit as he scanned the blood, recognizing his Pa's DNA.

"Shit," Clark whispered, "shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!"

His breathing became erratic and short. His heart was racing and he felt dizzy. Clark fisted his hair and tried to calm his breathing. He knew the signs of a panic attack.

"Come on, come on," he gasped out, "I'm Superman. I'll find them. They're fine. They'll be fine."

But it wasn't working. He was full-on panicking. He sank down to the floor, his back facing the wall, and tried to think about the good things in his life. His friends, his colleagues, the pure excitement he felt every time he flew, Sarah, his paren—no, he can't think about them. He can't. Not right now. It would send him over the edge. He shut his eyes tight.

Clark held his breath. Sarah once told him that she read that holding your breath can stop a panic attack. He wasn't sure if it would work on him, but he could only hope. Clark felt his heartbeat slow down as he exhaled slowly. He took a deep breath and exhaled again.

Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale. Exhale.

Finally, the panic he felt inside of him was subsiding. He opened his eyes and took another deep breath before slowly standing up. He didn't feel weak anymore. Instead, he felt something burn within him.

A high-pitched noise made him cover his ears and grunt in pain. _"Hello, Superman. Or should I say Mr. Kent?"_

Clark froze. He recognized the voice. Lex Luthor. _"Only dogs, cats and beings with extremely enhanced hearing are able to pick this frequency – and so far, you're the only one with hearing range on this scale. Now, as you've probably already noticed, we have your parents. It's not them we want. We want you."_

Clark's eyes snapped open – the soft blue replaced by angry red. They took them because of him. He tore his shirt apart, revealing the House of El symbol underneath. As the supersuit spread all over him, he activated his earpiece and alerted the League while listening to the message.

" _They are unharmed. For now. That, however, can change."_

Batman was already alerting the rest of the League of the emergency, and Clark broke the door apart as he flew straight into it and into the sky, following the soundwave with his various vision powers.

" _So, we propose an exchange, Mr. Kent. You for your parents."_

Clark's eyes still glowed bright red, including his sclera, as he landed roughly on the pavement approximately 250 miles west from Metropolis.

A.R.G.U.S. base.

" _Clark, don't do anything rash,"_ said Batman through the League comm. Clark barely heard him.

The building looked ordinary, but Clark knew what was beneath it. The guards already noticed him and started walking towards him. They met halfway and armed their weapons at him.

"Now," said Clark, his voice quiet, yet so cold and full of anger at once that most of the guards stepped back, "I'm here because you took someone I care about. I'm here for them. Move."

One of the guards shoot him in the eye. Clark didn't even twitch. The guard's eyes widened and he stepped back.

"Or I'll move you."

All guards but three stepped back, letting him pass. Clark looked at them, their eyes full of hatred and defiance, with weapons still raised at him. "These won't work."

"I don't care," said one of them as he used up all of his magazine for shooting Clark in the chest – straight on the S. Clark didn't even feel it.

He gave the guards a little push with his palm, sending them flying and getting knocked out by the wall. Some bones were broken.

He entered the building – more agents tried to shoot him. He didn't even spare them a glance. Clark noticed an elevator, and with a quick use of his x-ray vision, he saw that the shaft led straight down. He ripped the elevator doors apart like an aluminum foil and jumped down, not using his flying ability to slow down his descend. His landing was so hard it shook the floor.

The walls were laced with lead. Clark used his superhearing to find his parents' heartbeats. He picked them up fairly quickly – they were definitely here and beating strong. They weren't seriously hurt.

" _Clark, we're two minutes out. Diana went ahead, she'll be there in a minute,"_ said Batman.

He followed the heartbeats and a few seconds later, he stood in front of a two feet thick titanium door. He ripped them apart. The room was dark, but Clark, able to see in the dark, could see his parents. He immediately scanned them for injuries, and was relieved to find none, except for a black eye Jonathan had and a sprained wrist his mother sported.

They smiled the moment they saw him, and their tensed bodies relaxed, making Clark's relax, too. He knelt down in front of them and broke the cuffs, rendering them free. Both of them rubbed their wrists, especially Martha.

"Are you okay?" asked Clark quietly, his voice full of concern. They nodded reassuringly.

"Yeah. Thank you," said Jonathan as Martha caressed his cheek with her uninjured hand.

"I'm getting you out of here."

Before he could stand up, however, a sharp pain in his whole head made him cry out in agony and cover his ears with his hands. It was as if he had a sensory overload all over again, when his hearing abilities first manifested, except that it was three times stronger and more painful. Clark felt something wet on his palms – blood.

His vision went fuzzy, and before he could pass out, the sound and the pain stopped. Clark supported his weight by putting his hands on the ground. He was breathing heavily, his body recovering from the assault.

"I thought Batman told you to not do anything stupid," said a feminine voice Clark recognized, making him breath out a sigh of relief.

Clark smiled at his parents before helping them stand up. "Thanks, Di."

"You're welcome," answered Wonder Woman.

"It was Luthor," said Clark. "He talked to me through the high frequency soundwave. And I'm guessing A.R.G.U.S. isn't innocent, too."

Batman appeared, then. "Yes. We will take it from here. Take your parents home, Clark."

Clark smiled and put his hand on Batman's shoulder. "Thank you, Bruce," he said quietly. He nodded in response.

After introducing Diana and Bruce to his parents, they decided to leave. Clark tried to look nonchalant the whole flight home, but both Jonathan and Martha could see that he felt guilty, even though he had no reason to.

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After they went home, the married couple noticed Clark slowly distancing himself from them all in a matter of hours – they knew what it was. It was his Kryptonian side showing. He once told them that Kryptonians were cold and aloof in nature, that they had complete control over their emotions. Jonathan and Martha raised Clark to always talk if something's bothering him, but sometimes, even they couldn't fight with his alien nature.

It was around 7 PM when Martha knocked on her son's bedroom door. "Come in."

"Clark, are you okay?" she asked as she entered the room. He was sitting on his bed, reading his school notes from junior year. He tried to distract himself – he knew all those things already. He looked up at her, and there was the guilt in his pure, brilliant blue eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, his gaze falling to his notes again.

"Clark," she said, her voice a little forceful, "look at me."

When he didn't, she put two fingers under his chin and forced him to lift his head to look at her. "It wasn't your fault," she said softly, her expression open, her eyes earnest.

"They kidnapped you because of me," he whispered.

"No. They kidnapped us because they are a bunch of degenerate idiots. And while you may have been the reason, it _wasn't your fault_. Some people in the world are just bad and are willing to use whatever means necessary to reach their goals – be it just plain, usual rudeness or kidnapping a superhero's family. Still, it doesn't change the fact that it was not your fault."

"You could've died," he whispered again, more quietly this time.

"We could die every day. Clark, we could easily die in a car accident or get a heart attack, and you wouldn't be able to do anything. You saved us today. Think about that. Don't think about the negative things that happened there. We are okay, and you saved us. You are a hero, Clark. The greatest of them all."

Clark's eyes were now full of tears, and the dam finally broke when he heard his father say, "She's right, Clark."

Martha put her arms around him and hugged him tightly to her while Jonathan ran comforting circles down his back. Clark wasn't letting just the guilt out. He was letting out all the horrible things he's seen since he became Superman.

All the lives he couldn't save. All the destruction. All the catastrophes. All the evil in the world. And yet, he also cried because he was grateful for everything he had - his friends from the Daily Planet – Jimmy, Lois, Perry, Jenny, even Steve. He was grateful for his team mates – his _friends_ \- who are always there for him when in crisis. He was grateful for Sarah – a girl who somehow managed to bring herself into his life, making him fall in love with her along the way, and who, by some miracle, loves him just as much as he loves her, and that he maybe makes her as happy as she does him.

Most of all, he was grateful for the best parents a superpowered boy could ever ask for – parents so compassionate, loving, caring and _good._ Parents who taught him that crying is not a weakness, but a sign of person who's been strong for too long. Parents who taught him that compassion and kindness was not something to be ashamed of. Parents who taught him that love was something a person should give to everyone around them.

And so, Clark let himself finally cry.

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Clark hugged Sarah tightly the moment he saw her at school the next day. She hugged him back without hesitation, albeit with confusion. "Clark, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said heavily. He kissed her forehead and intervened their hands together. "I'm okay now."

She smiled up at him, her eyes full of happiness, mirroring his own.


	39. Chapter 39 - World History

**Alright, this chapter is short as hell, but I wanted to at least update the story. Anyway, tell me what you thought about it:)**

 **By the way, you should also check out my newest story, The Damaged Hero, depicting the life of an emotionally scarred Superman after 17 years spent in imprisonment. It's a Superman/Wonder Woman story.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman.**

* * *

Chapter 39 - World History

It's been a week since the kidnapping of the Kents, however brief it was. Sarah noticed that Clark was solemn and somehow kept pushing her away, letting his Kryptonian persona slowly take control, and she was hurt and worried at first, but now, she was hurt, worried _and_ angry. It was not healthy, and Clark was supposed to know it, with his stupid Kryptonian super-IQ brain.

She knew well Kryptonians were aloof and cold. And she knew well that Clark struggled with this part of his character a lot, even if he tried to suppress it and never show it to her or to his parents. Or anyone, basically.

So it felt both good and bad when she finally cornered him at school, approximately fifteen minutes before the ball rang. He was wearing a pair of jeans, a button up and a sweatshirt on top of it, which did nothing to hide his physique – it only showed off his muscled chest and his arms. Sarah normally would probably be smitten, but she was too cornered and ... and yeah, and angry.

The moment she saw him, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, which must've looked pretty comically, given their height difference, and proceeded to enter the female toilets, much to Clark's horror.

„What's been going on with you, Clark?" she asked. At his confused expression, she decided to explain. „You've been aloof, cold, and slowly distancing yourself from me over the past two weeks."

„I'm fine," he said stiffly. He might've been many things – a Kryptonian, Superman, a nerd, a dork, an amazing boyfriend, a good son, a superhero, and dozens of different things but a good liar was nowhere on the list.

„No, you aren't." Her eyes softened then, and put her hand on his cheek, „I'm worried about you, Clark. What's going on?" she asked softly, caressing his cheek with her thumb. She could see his façade crumble before her eyes. He looked down at his shoes and took a deep breath. He then looked at her, and saw the pain and the guilt in his eyes. And then it all clicked.

"You still feel guilty, don't you?" _and angry,_ she thought. He didn't answer, but she knew the answer already. "Clark," she said, "It wasn't your fault. Your parents told you so."

"They set Luthor free, Sarah," he whispered, and there was unmistakable anger in his voice. She didn't like that one bit. She put her other hand on his face. "They didn't have enough evidence."

"You'll catch him. You and the League. For now, Clark, stop thinking about it. You are safe. I am safe. Your parents are safe. You can't live in the present while constantly thinking about the future. Stop thinking about the what ifs and why's. No matter how smart Luthor is, he will slip. And you will be there to catch him. Okay?"

"I-I'm sorry," he said, his voice quiet, "I didn't want to push you away. I got so wrapped up in my own guilt that I forgot what truly mattered." He then looked at her, the guilt and anger was still there, but the love outshone it tenfold. She smiled at him. She could see the Clark she knew and loved, her Clark, come back.

He hugged her tightly, and she was all too happy to reprecipitate. She breathed his scent – he smelled like air and something so _Clark_ she couldn't find the words to describe it even if she wanted to.

A sudden shriek broke them out of the hug. They turned around and saw a senior girl.

"Any reason for you to be here?" asked the senior Clark recognized as Mindy. He apologized, and with a tug, he let Sarah and himself out of the bathroom. Sarah was already red in the face, trying to suppress her laughter.

"Very funny," deadpanned Clark, which only made her need to laugh bigger. The bell rang, and Sarah didn't realize they've been on the toilets, having their heart-to-heart.

"What do you have now?" asked Clark.

"Physics. You?"

"World History."

"Okay. I'll see you later?" asked Sarah with a hint of smile on her face.

"Oh, definitely," he said, before leaning down and giving her a quick kiss. Which turned into a deeper kiss. Sarah licked Clark's bottom lip, asking for entrance. He was happy to oblige. Clark let Sarah take control of the kiss, and her tongue found its way into his mouth, something Clark enjoyed thoroughly.

Someone cleared their throat. Sarah groaned and blushed at the same time.

"Shouldn't you kids be in class by now?" asked a teasing voice. They turned around only to be met with a smiling Mrs. Adams, their former Math teacher, thanks to whom they met the other.

"Hello, Mrs. Adams, nice to see you again," said Sarah. Clark was pretty sure he'd be blushing if it weren't for his biology.

"Hello, Ms. Wilson, Mr. Kent. Nice to see you, too. Together," she said with a wink. "Now, I'm pretty sure, as I've said before, you should be in your respective classes."

"Yes, Mrs. Adams, we're sorry," said Clark.

After Mrs. Adams left, Sarah started laughing. Clark let out a chuckle, too. Who knew their teacher shipped them?

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Clark heard a cry for help in his AP World History. He knew something like this could happen. With a raised hand, he asked, "May I go to the toilet, please?"

"Why would you need to go to the toilet right now, Mr. Kent?" asked his teacher, Mr. Fredericks – a middle aged man in his fifties.

Clark was extremely tempted to answer that he needed to go to open his chamber of secrets, but he figured it would be highly inappropriate. "I need to use the toilet, sir."

Apparently, he liked being called a sir, and with a grim smile, he gave him a hall pass and let him go. Ten seconds later, a sonic boom could be heard in the airspace of Smallville, Kansas.

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

While Clark didn't have to break the sound barrier to fly across the town, he realized that it was a good cover. Superman wouldn't normally be in a small town in Kansas unless something came up. And that something could be a fire of an apartment building. And yes, Smallville had apartment buildings, thank you very much.

Clark had no idea what to do – as far as he was aware, he didn't have any freezing abilities. So, he did the only thing that came to mind – he clapped. Not an ordinary clap, no. He outstreched his arms, and then, extremely fast, he slapped his palms together, creating a very strong, and very effective ripple of air, which successfully put out the fire, much to his bewilderment. He didn't expect it to work.

Clark then escorted the people out of the building, and seeing as there were some spots still on fire, Clark put it out as well. Some people suffered from smoke inhalation while some suffered from various degrees of burns. Fortunately, the ambulance, or rather, ambulances, were already waiting, so Clark didn't have to escort anyone in the hospital. Everyone would be alright.

He immediately went back to school. He has been gone for almost 15 minutes. This wouldn't end well.

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

„Where have you been, Mr. Kent?" asked Mr. Fredericks. Clark felt like a deer caught in the headlights, and so, he said the only thing that came to mind.

„Diarrhea."

The rest of the class started to laugh, much to Mr. Fredericks' horror, and while the teacher seemed to believe him, he wasn't amused at all. He sent him back to his seat and then went back to his lecture about Technological and Environmental Transformations to 600 B.C.

Later, when he met Sarah, she asked him why he smelled of smoke. Clark just laughed.

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

Clark had a monitor duty tonight, much to his annoyance – he wanted to take Sarah out on a date as an apology for behaving like a dick for the past few days. She said it was alright and that they could have it tomorrow, since it would be Friday.

He met some members of the League, and since he had the time, he stopped by and had a small chat with some of them, including Zatanna, who was still flirting with him, though in a friendly way, not a predatory way she used to do this before she learned of his age.

When he entered the Monitor Womb, he was met with Black Canary, who he hasn't seen in a long time. „Hey, Dinah. How are you?" he asked politely. Dinah turned around and beamed at him.

„Great. Having a date with Ollie tonight, so ..."

Clark nodded in understanding. He was supposed to replace her on the duty in about half an hour. „That's fine, you can go."

She beamed at him. „Thanks, Clark. By the way, we finally set a date!"

„Really?" Clark asked, surprised. He knew Dinah and Ollie were engaged – he congratulated them both, but he didn't know they've already set a date.

„Yeah. December 15th," she beamed. It was now September 21st. He smiled at her. „That's amazing, Dinah!" he exclaimed.

„You're invited, by the way. Every core member is. Don't forget to bring that girlfriend of yours we've heard so much about," she said and winked at him as she said the last part. Clark rolled his eyes a little bit and gave her a one armed hug.

„Alright, alright, if she's okay with it. Now, don't you have a date to go to?"

Dinah smiled.

After she left, Clark sat down on a chair and picked up a paper and a pencil, sketching some rough ideas about what he could improve on his suit. His hyperactive Kryptonian brain was already buzzing with ideas.

Twenty minutes later, an alarm alerted him of a small and fast aircraft entering Earth's atmosphere. Clark immediately alerted Cyborg and asked if he could take over the duty, as he was one of the few available members on the Watchtower, and left the tower. Vic was already giving him the aircraft's coordinates.

Smallville, Kansas.

* * *

 **Please, let me know what you thought about this chapter in your review, it would really make my day:)**


	40. Chapter 40 - Lobo

**Alright, so I know it's been a month, but I can explain. Well, I can't really, it was a bad case of Writer's Block, my own laziness and the fact that I'm a little shit, for which I sincerely apologize. Anyway, here's the 40th chapter - DAMN, to be honest, I didn't expect the story to be more than 20 chapter max, and yet here we are.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman, unfortunately. Or Lobo. Or any DC Comics material. Damn.**

* * *

Chapter 40 - Lobo

„Come on, come on, come on," Clark whispered frantically as he was flying towards his hometown where an unidentified alien aircraft landed almost a minute ago. Cyborg has already sent some of the members closest to the area to check it out, but Clark's instincts were screaming at him to get there as fast as he could.

„ _Dinah's almost there,"_ said Cyborg through the comm. Clark accelerated. He knew Dinah, and he knew that the heroine was capable of handling her own, but he was also aware of the fact that some aliens were very powerful, and not at all peaceful.

And he felt bad for interrupting her date, even if unintentionally and indirectly.

Ten seconds later, Clark slowed down, as the outline of Smallville was already within his normal, non-telescopic sight. He focused his ears, blocked almost everything out, and heard screams – some of the voices he recognized, such as Mr Avery who owned a hardware shop downtown. He sounded terrified, and Clark wondered who the hell these aliens were. Clark stopped mid-air when he heard ... heavy-metal?

„What the—?" Clark's words died on his tongue when he saw the aircraft – or rather, an alien motorbike – hovering three feet in the air. He landed quietly and walked over to the bike, quickly examining it with his X-Ray vision – the technology was alien, that was certain, but it wasn't as advanced as Kryptonian or Oan technology, though it was still far more advanced than anything humans can create. As Clark was observing the motorbike, he didn't notice the owner's fast approaching footsteps – he, however, did notice when the owner punch him in the face. And he felt it.

Clark immediately turned around, his eyes blazing deep scarlet – the alien didn't look the least bit intimidated. In fact, he seemed to be amused. He put his arms up in mock-surrender. Clark's eyes changed from red to their usual inhumane blue, which then immediately changed to a lighter hue once he activated his X-Ray vision – the guy was definitely an alien, if the red eyes, the white skin and the fact that he was even taller than Clark didn't demonstrate the fact. His physiology was unlike anything he'd ever seen – granted, he only saw the physiology of a few Green Lanterns and maybe the Guardians, but still ... this guy's was different.

„Ya done?" he asked. Clark eventually nodded.

„Who are you and what are you doing on Earth?"

The alien looked both surprised and offended at Clark's question. „Who am I? _Who am I?_ "

Clark, with his no-shit attitude and a completely deadpan look, answered, „Yes."

„I'm Lobo! The baddest bastich the galaxy has ever seen! 'Course you'd know nothing about me, _Earthling_ ," he mocked the last word, „you barely made it past your own friggin' Moon!"

„So ... you're a bounty hunter?" asked Clark.

„Yer about to find out," he said, and then grinned, making Clark stop in his tracks.

Clark heard it before he saw it coming, but he also saw the civilians around watching in great interest. He suspected most of them were frozen in fear. He knew that if he dodged the thing that aimed at him, it'd most likely hit Mrs Camilla, an elderly lady and a friend of his mother (What was she even doing here?). So, with that in mind, he didn't dodge, and felt a little sting on his back. He turned around and saw a hook – or what was left of it, anyway. It was bent in a weird shape after colliding with him. Clark looked at Lobo and saw him with his mouth hanging open. His expression then quickly changed from puzzlement to anger.

„Shit just got personal, Kryptonian," he growled, „nobody does that to the Main Main's hook!"

Lobo moved inhumanly fast and punched Clark in the face – and it hurt. And it also sent Clark flying about 100 feet away from him, destroying part of the road with his rough landing. Quickly getting up, Clark realized that yes, he was a bounty hunter, and yes, he was most likely after him – Lobo knew he was a Kryptonian, which was not a good sign. Clark also realized that someone must have hired him.

„Who hired you, Lobo?" Clark asked after wiping a little bit of blood from his already healed lip.

 _Thank you, sunlight,_ he thought.

„Ye'll find out soon enough, I can promise you that – and the Main Man keeps his promise!" he shouted before moving to try another attack – this time, Clark anticipated it, and with the use of his super-speed, he was able to dodge Lobo's attack and effectively punch him in the face – Lobo shouted curses at him the whole time he flew away. Knowing he was dangerous, Clark immediately flew over to him and punched him again, this time sending him straight to the ground. A few seconds later, Lobo was already up, no wounds visible. He was tougher than he looked, which was saying something.

„Dinah," said Clark into his comm, „I'd advise you not to come. The guy's crazy strong, and very, very dangerous."

„ _Don't even think about it, sweetheart,"_ she said, _„my date was already screwed up because of this guy. The least I can do is participate in the fight."_

„Dinah, you don't get it," Clark said as he narrowly dodged a what would most likely be a painful right hook, „he's strong enough to break through my invulnerability."

A few seconds of silence, during which Clark kneed Lobo in the gut and elbowed him in the back, and then, _„One more reason for me to come. I'm already in Smallville, Clark."_

Clark knew not to fight with the woman, so with a overly dramatic sigh, he resigned. „Okay. But be careful."

„ _Always am."_

Apparently, Clark didn't listen to his own advice and was less careful than he should've been, because at that moment, Lobo tripped him, and Clark, realizing too late that he didn't plant himself properly on the ground, got his ass planted on the pavement.

„Seriously?" he asked incredulously.

Lobo shrugged and started punching the Kryptonian in the face over and over. Clark accidentally bit the inside of his cheek and would've cursed out loud if Lobo's first didn't connect with his face at that precise bounty hunter then turned around and pulled something out of his motorbike.

„Red sun radiation emitter," he said with a crazy grin.

Clark rolled his eyes and stood up. It was evening, but the sun was still shining bright, and Clark let his body absorb as much of Sol's rays as possible. Superman was fully healed and ready to fight.

Lobo turned the emitter on, and Clark knew he didn't have much time before he would lose most of his powers – it would take a long time under normal conditions, but by exerting himself, he'd use up all the stored energy in his body.

And then Lobo did something Clark didn't expect at all – he threw the emitter at him.

„What the—?"

With no time to finish his sentence, Clark quickly dodged an incoming attack, but couldn't help but wonder what species this bounty hunter was. He was almost as strong as him, and apparently had a healing factor even stronger than his. However, he didn't have a few things Clark had, such as x-ray vision and super-speed. With another quick scan of the alien, he was able to locate at least three weak points he could explore.

It was then that Dinah arrived ... and then almost broke her arm when she punched Lobo in the face. She swore and shut her eyes in pain.

„Well, well, well," said the alien as he looked at Black Canary, „aren't you a pretty one?"

Dinah opened her eyes to glare at him. Lobo whistled.

„Yeah. But I can also scream," she smirked before screaming her Canary Cry, a noise so loud every bystander covered their ears with their hands. Clark started to feel a little woozy – both from Rao's radiation and Dinah's Canary Cry, which didn't go well with his enhanced senses. Clark fell down on his knees and tried to take deep breaths, his ears ringing so loud he couldn't hear anything else. With his blurry vision, he was able to see Dinah knocked out on the ground and Lobo advancing at the scared bystanders. Seeming to make a decision, he turned back to Clark with wicked gleam in his eyes, before turning around again and making his way over to the innocents. Clark didn't know what to do, only watch, frozen, woozy, as Lobo approached the _one_ bystander he knew he shouldn't have.

Arianna Wilson, the aunt and guardian of his girlfriend, and a mother-to-be. Lobo caught her roughly by her arm. Ria looked at Clark, with not only fear in her eyes, but at pure anger directed at Lobo.

„Imma have some fun, since the self-proclaimed _Man of Steel_ is giving up so fast," he cackled.

 _Time for me to stop playing nice,_ thought Clark, his body full of anger, effectively shutting everything out, including the pain. With that thought, Clark stood up faster than human's eyes could register. He caught Lobo's wrist and when the bounty hunter looked at him in delighted surprise, Clark started to squeeze. He could feel Lobo's bones groan under the pressure, but he kept going.

Lobo may have been as strong as him, but he wasn't as invulnerable. He had a healing factor, but he could still feel pain on _some_ level.

„Ler. Her. Go," said Clark, his voice cold, but unmistakably angry. Clark, and probably everyone in close proximity, could hear the loud _pop_ Lobo's wrist gave. Lobo, out of reflex, released Ria.

„Go," he said to Ria, his voice much softer than before. Ria nodded with a small smile, rubbing her sore forearm, before whispering, „Kick his ass, Clark."

And so, he did. With the mix of his speed and strength, Clark started punching Lobo all over his body – his back, his front, his sides, the strength of his punches slowly increasing by every second. Lobo, on his account, only groaned in pain, but Clark could see the convulsing muscles. It hurt him. A lot.

„Don't. Ever. Come. Back." Clark said, every word of his sentence accompanied by a punch to the face, before he caught Lobo by his throat and threw him at his motorbike. „Got it?"

Lobo spit up blood – it was green. „I underestimated ya, Kryptonian. And so has _he_ ," he said. Clark had no idea who this _he_ was, but he knew that it was the one who hired him.

„Get the hell out of my planet, Lobo. And tell _him_ , whoever he is, that Earth is under my protection. Now and in the future," growled Clark.

Lobo sat on his motorbike, the bent hook in his hand, and smirked. „Is it? Won't be for much longer."

„What are you talking about?"

„Oh, ye don't know?" he asked, and then started to laugh. Once he stopped, he said, „Passed a big-ass asteroid on my way here heading straight for Terra. Or Earth, whatever. By the way, ya can keep the emitter, the shit ain't working anyway. Friggin' Desaad said that _it would make him weak._ Make you weak my ass."

„Go, Czarnian," said Clark. He finally remembered the species Lobo was. Lobo grinned in response.

„Or what? Ye gonna punch me again?"

A few seconds later, Lobo was leaving Earth's atmosphere without the bike.

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

After Clark made sure that everyone was alright, he picked the still unconscious Dinah up and carried her towards the closest teleporter.

„Cyborg, you there? Dinah's hurt, I'm teleporting her to the Watchtower. And call every available member – we have a problem."

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

An hour later, every available member of the League – Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Flash, Zatanna and Aquaman. Green Arrow was with Black Canary in the mad bay – watched as Clark entered the Monitor Womb. Barbara Gordon, also known as the Oracle, formerly Batgirl, was also in the room.

„I'm sure you're all wondering why I called you here," he started and watched as the other Leaguers nodded. Taking a deep breath, Clark then explained everything that happened today – from the bounty hunter through the fight until he eventually told them about the asteroid Lobo's mentioned.

„And you believe him?" asked Batman.

„Not necessarily, but if there is even a small chance that there is indeed an asteroid heading towards Earth, we have to take action."

„You're right – there is an asteroid coming to Earth," said Barbara. Clark immediately supersped to the computer Barbara was working on. And there was indeed an asteroid – the satellites picked it up a few minutes ago.

Approximately a million kilometers away, with a diameter of 30 kilometers and the speed of approximately 50 000 kilometers per hour. Clark turned around and looked at the Leaguers, all of whom were looking at Clark.

„The asteroid's fast and big enough to destroy the planet should it hit it. We have to stop it, there's no other way," he said eventually.

Batman spoke up. „We need to divert it, as destroying it would put Earth in danger yet again, "he looked at Clark, „you've already done the calculations, haven't you?"

Clark nodded. „I have."

„What calculations?" asked Zatanna.

Batman looked at her, and without missing a beat, he said, „The speed Clark will have to reach to divert the asteroid."

„What do you mean, for Clark to reach it?" asked Aquaman.

„What he means, Arthur," said Diana, who was quiet until now, „is that Clark is the only member of the League capable of surviving in the vacuum of space for prolonged periods of time, and the only member fast enough besides Wally and me to be able to reach the speed required to divert the asteroid.

„I am able to survive in space longer than humans, but not long enough to reach the asteroid and then come back to Earth. The Javelins also aren't fast enough – by the time we'd met it halfway, it'd already be too late."

Clark smiled at her appreciatively, as he couldn't have explained it better. „Indeed. Based on the size and speed of the asteroid, its mass is approximately 1,31*10^17 kilograms and its kinematic energy is approximately 1,18*10^25 Joules. For me to successfully divert it, I'd have to hit it at at least 4,86*10^11 meters per second, which is approximately 135 000 kilometers per hour, or 83,8851 miles per hour."

„Can you fly that fast?" asked Cyborg while Batman double checked Clark's calculation. Clark felt his phone buzz.

Clark nodded. „Yes."

„We don't know what its made out of," said Batman eventually, „while your calculations are correct, there is a chance that its mass is actually bigger than you assume. I'd advise you to fly faster, if that's possible."

Clark nodded once again. „It's possible. Thank you, Bruce."

Bruce nodded. „We'll prepare everything we need. You should go and absorb as much sunlight as you can, just in case."

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

After Clark told his parents everything and made them promise not to tell anyone as to not cause any panic, he made his way over to Sarah's and was surprised to discover that she was the only one home.

„Sweetheart, you there?" he asked as he knocked on her window. The window opened and her head poked in. Sarah immediately ushered him inside and closed the window.

„Did you get my message?" asked Sarah after she hugged Clark. He was still clad in his supersuit, which was unusual for her.

Clark nodded. She was concerned about him – the fight between him and Lobo was on every news station in America. „How's Ria?"

„She's fine," she smiled, „she's tougher than she looks."

„Guess the Wilson girls have that in common. Listen, there's something I need to tell you."

Clark then told her about the asteroid and the fact that he's the only one capable of stopping it. „You can't tell anyone, okay? We don't want anyone panicking."

Sarah nodded, though he didn't miss how her shoulders tensed and the crinkle in her brow appeared. Clark put his arms around her. „Hey, I'm gonna be okay. I'm _Superman_ ," he said in a cheesy voice and she started to laugh.

Sarah fiddled with her necklace – the silver insignia of the House of El glimmering in the light. They were standing near the window so that Clark could absorb as as sunlight as he could – he discovered that despite him basically absorbing the sunlight passively 24/7, even at night, still did not compare to the sensation of having the rays caress his skin.

„Alright, Kent. Give me the data, I want to double-check your calculations, just to be sure," she said eventually, picking up a pen and a notepad.

„Batman already double-checked it."

„Then I'll triple-check it," she retorted. After Clark gave her the data, she hummed.

„Your calculations are correct," she said after about 10 minutes, „how long did it take you to calculate it?"

„0.47 seconds," Clark answered immediately. Sarah whistled and muttered something about Kryptonian brains.

* * *

 **Alright, so - if the calculations aren't correct, I'm sorry. A fellow author calculated the kinetic energy for me and I converted the speed myself. If the calculations are wrong, just let me know in the PMs and I'll edit it.**

 **Anyway, this was my first time writing a full-on fight scene, and as I discovered, I can't write it for shit. I hope you like it anyway.**

 **See ya around:)**


	41. Chapter 41 - We Don't Give Up

**Okay, first of all, I'm so, so, so extremely sorry I haven't written anything in like .. uh .. almost three months? I had a severe case of writer's block where I couldn't write anything. I literally couldn't write shit. Anyway, hopefully, I'm back now, largely thanks to one Mellia Bee, who somehow shook me out of it. Thank you:)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman. I'd be much richer.**

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Chapter 41 - We Don't Give Up

To say that Clark was nervous would be an understatement of the highest caliber. In less than four hours, he will already be on his way to stop the asteroid threatening to destroy the planet he has come to call his home. Clark was currently standing on the porch of the Kent house, leaning on the porch fence, and enjoying the last rays of sun this day had to offer with his eyes closed. To a stranger, it would seem that he was just relaxing and enjoying the lovely evening.

He heard the front door open and the footsteps accompanying it, but didn't turn around, nor did he open his eyes.

„Are you okay?" asked Jonathan.

Clark shut his eyes tighter and with a quiet sigh, he turned around and forced a smile at the man who raised him. „I don't know," he answered, before turning back to look at the cornfield. He felt his father shift beside him.

„You can do it," he said quietly. Clark didn't say anything, and Jonathan continued. „You can, you know? Not just because of your strength or the fact that you can fly or anything like that."

At this, Clark looked at him with a puzzled look. Jonathan chuckled, „You can do it because you're a Kent. And Kents can do anything as long as they want to do it. Kents don't give up."

Clark smiled, genuinely this time, while Jonathan clapped him on his shoulder and gave him a look, the look he craved so much when he was younger, a look he still craved today, though to a much lesser extent. The look of pride.

„We all believe in you. Your Ma, me, Lana, Chloe, Pete, Sarah," he said, „and we know that you can do it."

And before Jonathan had the chance to say anything else, Clark had enveloped him a bone-crushing hug, and while Jonathan appreciated the sentiment, and loved his son more than anything, bruised ribs were not something he really appreciated.

„Son," he wheezed, „ribs."

Clark immediately let go and winced. „Sorry, Pa," he said sheepishly, his hand at the back of his neck. Once Jonathan regained his breath, he laughed.

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

„Remind me again why are we giving a seventeen year old boy the responsibility of saving the whole world?" asked Aquaman, the doubt in his voice impossible to miss.

There was a sigh in the Monitor Womb. „Because," said Batman, „that _seventeen-year-old boy_ , as you said, is the most powerful being in the whole god damn world, and the only one who can survive in space for prolonged periods of time. Even the Green Lanterns wouldn't be able to stop the asteroid. Not the human ones, at least."

„The Green what now?" asked Zatanna, who was, as she beautifully described, chillaxing on the Watchtower. Bruce ignored her.

„He is our only shot, Arthur."

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

To be completely honest, Clark was fucking terrified. Not for himself, no. He was terrified of failure, and what it would mean for his adopted homeworld. He was terrified of what would happen to his friends, his family, the people he doesn't even know. The fathers and mothers, the old and young, the children and the adults alike. It was all upon him – the fate of the world.

The last hope.

And he was not going to let them down. He'd rather be torn to shreds than fail. And he'd do it, if that's what it was going to take.

Taking a deep breath, Clark looked up in the sky, and not even a second later, he felt his body gently lift itself from the ground, slowly gaining speed as he soared upwards to the one place he had to go first. He heard his phone buzz in his pocket, and not for the first time, he wondered how the hell this piece of tech even managed to work after being in the vacuum of space.

Once he was aboard the Watchtower, he and the League went through the plan one more time. He'd fly at the speed of eighty five thousand miles per hour, and then, as gently as he would be able to, slowly change the course of the asteroid so that it would miss Earth and its moon. He would have a comm in his ear, which would also calculate his speed and alert him were he flying too slowly.

„Are you ready?" asked Diana gently, her hand resting on his shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze.

Clark took a deep breath. „As ready as I'll ever be."

Ten minutes later, the whole League stood in front of him in front of the hatch from which he would fly off. Some were looking grim, some were brooding (Batman), and some were looking plainly terrified, not unlike Clark himself was feeling at the moment.

Clark scanned each of their faces, each of their expressions, each or their worry lines. They trusted him. And he would make damn sure he would not fail that trust.

„The asteroid is 4 hours away from Earth," informed the Oracle. „Superman, it's time."

Clark nodded, and with the last look at his colleagues, his _friends_ , he opened the hatch with the most determined look he's ever worn.

Time to stop an asteroid.

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

Clark let himself float in the vast deepness of space, letting the unfiltered sunlight reach his body and charge his cells as much as he could.

„ _Go."_

Clar— _Superman's_ eyes snapped open, and a few miliseconds later, he was rocketing off to the big chunk of rock that was threatening all life on Earth. He was gaining speed extremely fast, he was sure he's never flown this fast before. It'd most likely destroy Earth's atmosphere if he had. Not that it matters if he fails.

„ _Current speed is Mach 50,"_ said Cyborg. Good. Approximately 65 Machs to go.

„ _Mach 75."_

„ _Mach 90."_

„ _Mach 100. 15 Machs to go, Superman. You can do it."_

Superman was sure he could. He felt his body buzz with power and adrenaline, making it easier for him to go faster.

„ _Mach 115, required speed obtained. You are ten thousand miles away from the target. ETA – 2 minutes. Good luck, Superman."_

If he could talk, he'd sure thank him. Superman could already see the asteroid in front of him, not even 10 000 miles away. Scanning the giant piece of rock, he estimated the best position to place himself in to successfully change the course with the least amount of resistance. Now, those things worked good in theory. The question was whether it would work as well in reality as on the figuritive paper.

30 seconds left. Superman adjusted himself.

10 seconds left. Superman realized much too late that the asteroid is not made of rock at all, but of a metal much denser, and therefore, much heavier than anticipated.

5 seconds left. Cyborg was screaming at him to abort.

2 seconds left. Superman did not have the time to abort. The Kents never give up.

1 second left. Superman braced himself for impact.

Superman, the most powerful being on Earth, and one of the most powerful being in the entire universe, almost broke his nose upon the impact.

(Side note: Do not let Sarah find out about this. She'd laugh her ass off.)

Clark knew that it'd take much more force to redirect the asteroid than anticipated, but that did not mean he would give up. He remembered his father's words. In any other situation, he'd laugh at the idea of his father being a Gryffindor. Now, as he put all his might into stopping the giant piece of ro—metal, ignoring his muscles screaming from the strain (which, really?), he thought about all the people he cared about

His family, worried and scared, yet brave.

His friends and teammates, determined and willing.

His girlfriend, the person he loves more than almost anything in the world, watching from her bedroom window, believing in him.

He tried to ignore the yells of his teammates through the comm.

Supe- _Clark_ would scream if he could. Instead, when he opened his mouth, no words came out. That's what the vacuum of space does to you. He might be Superman when in the suit on patrol, but right now, he's just Clark Kent, a seventeen-year-old Kryptonian with the power to make worlds tremble, yet powerless without those closest to him.

„ _The asteroid's speed is slowly decreasing. He's doing it!"_ Cyborg yelled over the comm, and he was pretty sure he wasn't talking to him.

„ _Come on, Clark. Come on, man. You can do this. You're stronger than you think you are, and we all know you know you're extremely strong."_

Okay, now he was sure they were talking to him. And they were right. He could do this. Angling himself only so that his palms were touching the asteroid, he willed himself to try and fly the opposite direction. He pushed with all he had, determined to stop that giant piece of shit even if it was the last thing he ever did.

„ _Clark, you only need to redirect it, not stop it,"_ growled Bruce, and Clark, despite focusing solely on the task at hand, still heard the very subtle undertone of concern.

And ever so slowly, Clark, realizing that while he could stop it, there was no need to, gently pushed to his left instead of forward, slowly but surely changing the course of the asteroid. Were he to turn around, he'd see the Watchtower not even a thousand miles away from him.

He sent it somewhere he knew it would not do anything. He sent it to one place he knew would destroy it. The one place that gave life, and the one place that gave him his gifts.

He sent it to the sun.

And while the island of metal was gently floating to the star, Clark decided to give himself a treat and flew right behind it, letting the healing rays hit him in their fullest. He smiled at the cheers of his comrades in arms, letting their happiness course through his ways the exact ways he let the sunlight do.

And when all was said and done, the first thing he did was not enter the Watchtower, oh, no. The first thing he did was to fly to a small town in Kansas, where three people were already waiting for him, their grins matching his own.

And when Sarah saw him, his frame slowly descending from the sky, the sun behind him, she could see why so many people thought him a god. And yet, it was her dork of a boyfriend, who just saved the world.

No one knew who hugged who first, or how they found themselves on the ground, but Clark felt the warmth of the group hug, of his parents, of his girlfriend, somewhere deep in his chest, gently blooming through his entire body.

That was a feeling no sun would be able to give him.

* * *

 **Mach 112 - about 85 000 mph / 137 000 kmh**

 **See ya around:)**


	42. Chapter 42 - Metropolis National

**NYELLO! Okay, first of all, I'm so, so, so, so, so incredibly sorry for not writing! I just have so much shit going on and so little inspiration, it's really hard to make myself read, let alone write! Anyway, enjoy this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Superman. Unfortunately. Or thank God? Depends.**

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Chapter 42 - Metropolis National

The news of the League stopping the meteor has somehow been leaked to various news stations across the world, and while Clark didn't really care whether or not the world knew about it, his parents actually really liked it. While they knew their son was a superhero, and according to them, the greatest of them all, it still didn't stop them from being incredibly proud of their son, of their little boy. They kept re-reading Lois' article over and over, something Clark could only chuckle about.

„ _Sources say the meteor was over 30 kilometers, or just under 19 miles. A meteor of this size and speed of over 50 000 kilometers per hour, or just over 30 000 miles per hour, would have been able to decimate all life on Earth. The meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs over 65 million years ago was half the size of the one the League has managed to stop with the combined efforts of Superman, whom stopped the meteor itself, Cyborg, and Batman, whom were helping the man of steel in his pursuit.  
They have saved the world, and we can't do nothing but be grateful."_

„Reading the article again, Pa?" asked Clark, his voice laced with amusement. He was leaning on a doorway, sipping apple juice.

Jonathan looked at him and smiled gently. „Apple juice can damage your teeth if you drink too much of it," he said.

Clark shrugged. „Not mine." His father only rolled his eyes in response, a fond smile on his face.

„Clark, you're going to be late for school if you keep up the talk with your pa!" yelled Martha from the other side of the house. Clark smiled. He wouldn't, but he appreciated the sentiment.

It was the beginning of October, and so to keep up appearances, Clark wore his leather jacket over his favorite flannel shirt, with the symbol of the House of El, containing his supersuit, right underneath.

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

Clark's phone buzzed during AP Biology. The teacher shot him a look and Clark smiled apologetically. She sighed and turned back to the board. Clark, as discreetly as he could, checked his phone.

 _DINAH  
9:47  
HAVE YOU GOT YOUR PLUS ONE YET?_

Dinah was, of course, referring to her wedding, to which Clark, just like the rest of the League, was invited. The wedding was to be in the middle of December, about 10 days before Christmas, and Clark was honored to have been invited. He just needed a date. He smiled. He indeed needed a date – with fierce silvery blue eyes, brown hair, and caring yet sassy attitude. He'd need to ask Sarah later that day.

10 minutes later, Clark's phones buzzed yet again, and this time, the death glare the teacher shot him would be capable of making a lesser man piss his pants. Or something worse. Clark gave her an apologetic look. Sometimes he thought the woman was a metahuman with superhuman senses, her hearing was that good.

Clark opened his phone to see a text from Sarah. She sent him a link to a Daily Planet article. He read the headline.

 _ROBBING GONE WRONG, HOSTAGES AT METROPOLIS NATIONAL BANK_

„Mrs. Cruz, may I go to the toilet?" he asked.

She sighed, but nodded. Twenty seconds later, a sonic boom could be heard over Smallville.

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

 _Please, let the hostages be alive, please, let the hostages be alive, please, let the hostages be alive,_ Clark thought over and over as he flew past Gotham and Star City. He broke the sound barrier approximately four times, and he'd need to slow down as to not to alert the robbers of his presence.

While Metropolis wasn't Clark's home, many people considered Metropolis to be the home of Superman, as it was the place where Superman had made his debut, successfully assisting in defeating various gas-posessed metahumans. Metropolis was under Superman's protection, even though he hasn't been to Metropolis in a few days.

 _Criminals sure are getting more and more cocky,_ he thought to himself.

Clark stopped mid-air right above Metropolis National Bank, about a mile above the building itself. He was high enough so that unless people actually looked and focused, they wouldn't be able to see him. He could, however, see everything going on right under him, thanks to his telescopic and x-ray vision.

Based on what he was able to see, there were 34 hostages, five of which were employees of the bank. He counted a total of seven robbers, all of them wearing ski masks, military grade armor and carrying various types of weapons, most of which a person would not be able to buy without military connection. Or black market.

The courtains were drawn shut, so were the windows and the doors, one robber stood in every corner, two were walking and watching the hostages to make sure none of them moved, while one of them moved freely across the floor.

Something seemed off. They weren't ordinary robbers, no. They had training, military grade armor and weapons. They were precise, their moves calculated. They had tactic. It didn't seem like an ordinary robbery, this seemed more like an operation.

Also the fact that they didn't even touch the vault was a hint.

Clark scanned all the hostages – all of them were bound by zip ties, their mouths shut by duct tape.

There were numerous police cars in front of the building, including some SWAT trucks. A negotiator was already there as well, speaking into a megaphone, trying to coerce the robbers out without them harming anyone. Clark knew it wouldn't work.

Gently, he descended. The officers started to notice him once he was about five hundred feet above the ground. He landed gently behind a SWAT truck, careful so that the robbers didn't see him. There was always a chance that they would panic and harm the hostages.

„Who's in charge here?" asked Clark.

„I am."

Clark turned around to see a man with dark bushy eyebrows. He reminded Clark of someone, he couldn't place him. The man outstretched a hand.

„Daniel Turpin, Special Crimes Unit. What are you doing here, Superman?" he asked.

Clark was a little taken aback, but he answered the officer. „I'm here to help. I scanned the building – 34 hostages, 7 robbers. One robber standing on each corner of the room, two watching the hostages, one moving freely across the room. All of them have military grade armor and weapons."

Despite Turpin's cold atittude, Turpin was impressed. He just gave them intel they desperately needed. The officer took out his walkie talkie and said, „SWAT team, prepare to move."

Clark's eyes widened. „What? Officer, if you go in, there's a chance that they might hurt the hostages!"

„And you've got a better idea?"

There was some silence between them, both men staring into each other's eyes, before Clark slowly said. „Send me in."

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

John really hated his job. He hated living in Metropolis. And most of all, he hated being a hostage. Again.

 _God, if you're up there, let us be out of here soon. Please._

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

Clark scanned the building one more time. The robbers nor the hostages haven't moved since his last scan. Good.

„Stand back," he ordered the officers behind him. They all took a couple of steps back.

Not even a second later, Superman broke through the door, glass shards flying everywhere. None of them reached the hostages. The robbers instinctively looked at him, their bodies reacting to the noise. Clark could hear sharp intakes of breath not only from the hostages, but from the robbers as well.

Clark looked at them. „Please, give up now before I force you to." His voice was calm yet firm, but there was immense power in his eyes.

He could see two of the robbers slowly loosing their grips on their guns, but he could also see five of them only gripping them tighter.

Thirty seconds later, all of the robbers were unconscious on the ground, their ski masks right next to them, revealing their faces. Clark didn't recognize any of them.

He helped the hostages up and broke their zip ties.

„Thank you, Superman," said an elderly lady after he gently helped her up. Clark smiled gently at her, letting his farm boy persona slip through a little bit.

„I do everything I can, ma'am," he replied.

There were many reporters standing outside the building, all of them hoping to hear Superman give a statement. Today would not be their lucky day, as Superman flew away without another word, only a nod to officer Turpin.

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

„You missed Biology," said Sarah non-chalantly.

„How would you know?" asked Clark slyly.

In response, she showed him an article on her phone.

 _SUPERMAN SAVES HOSTAGES OF METROPOLIS NATIONAL BANK_

Clark rolled his eye and hugged her to his side. Sarah laughed and nestled into his side, breathing him in.

„Well, you sent me the article," he said.

„And you saved the lives of thirty people," she retorted.

Sarah and Clark were currently in front of the school premises, school having ended only about five minutes ago. Clark managed to return to AP Biology only seconds before the bell rang, earning a murderous glare from his teacher. He shrugged and said something about prostate and bladder problems. She sighed, telling him only that there'd be a test tomorrow.

The rest of the day went pretty well, all things considered. There was no emergency the other League members couldn't handle. He got a text from Bruce, saying that he should not skip school. Clark responded with a :) emoji, something he knew would only irritate Bruce further, but he could not bring himself to care that much.

„You wanna go to a wedding with me?" he asked suddenly.

Sarah stopped walking immediately, and in turn, Clark stopped as well. He looked down at her, the surprise in her eyes quite evident.

„A what?"

„A wedding."

„Whose wedding?"

„Dinah and Oliver," he explained. Seeing her look, her clarified. „Black Canary and Green Arrow?"

She gasped. „Black Canary and Green Arrow are getting married?" she all but screeched.

„Yes?" It came out as a question, and really, it kind of was. He didn't know his girlfriend was a fan of the superhero couple, even though no one outside the League knew that they were actually a couple.

„Why me though?" she asked a couple of minutes later, after she managed to calm down.

„Why you what? Sarah, you're my girlfriend, and I love you, and you're the only one I'd ever think about attending a wedding with."

She beamed at him.

„You just wanted me to say that I love you, didn't you?"

„... Yes?"

Without Sarah having a chance to react, Clark scooped her up so that she was face to face with him, hugged her close to him, and said quietly, „I love you," before kissing her, slowly and gently.

Once they were apart, Sarah put her hands on his face and caressing his cheek, she replied, „I love you too, Clark. More than you'll ever know."


	43. Chapter 43 - What a Spike

**A/N: Okay, I can explain! Okay, I actually can't. Sorry it took me this long to update. I'm slowly trying to get back into the writing, and eventually finish the story. There's not much left. I assume 10 chapters at best!**

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 **Chapter 43 - What a Spike**

Things were good.

Things were incredibly good, that's all Clark could say. His parents were happy. His teammates were happy. School was going well, though .. when wasn't it? He was closer to his girlfriend now more than ever. His teammates were more like his friends, even if he was the youngest one among them all. Physically, at least. But most of all, people finally began to accept him. A lot of people had accepted him before, but now more than ever. They, dare he say it, looked up to him.

Just the day before, he heard a boy, no more than five years old, give his classmate half of his cookies, because ‚that's what Superman would do'. This was his legacy. Not the godlike strength. Not the ability to fly. No, it was kindness. Openness. Compassion. Something he had known for a long time humanity had an incredible amount of. He couldn't be prouder.

Superman was his legacy. Something that would be there for generations. Something to inspire, something to give people hope.

„Kal, are you listening?"

He shook himself out of his reverie, blinking at Diana. She smiled at him gently, like she knew what he was thinking about. His hand automatically reached the back of his neck, and he scratched it awkwardly.

„Uhhh ... not really, no?" he answered sheepishly. Diana just rolled her eyes and smiled. For a being older than all of the League members combined and then some, Diana was the most curious and, dare he say it, childlike person he had ever met. She was incredibly mature, and quite possibly the best and most capable combatant on the team, but she was always ready to learn, observe, ask. Clark, in some strange way, felt immensely protective over her, despite knowing she could kick his ass without even blinking. Alright, so he defeated her once, but that was because she was high on dangerous gas. She was like the older sister he's never had, but also the younger sister as well. It was all very confusing.

„I asked whether you would like me to replace you," she explained, „I do not really have anything better to do tonight."

Clark blinked at her. He didn't really have any plans, either. „Di, everything is better than monitor duty."

„Perhaps. So, do you want me to replace you or not?"

Clark's shift was to end in about 20 minutes or so. Cyborg was supposed to replace him.

Clark thought about it for a second, and then smiled. Diana seemed to recognize that smile. „...I am not going to like this, am I?"

Clark just shook his head in response. „Probably not. Bruce's here as well, right?"

After getting a confirmation from Diana that Bruce was indeed in the tower, Clark picked up his comm. „Hey, Bruce, could you come to the monitor womb, please? Thanks."

Diana was giving him The Look™. Clark just smiled at her sweetly. A few seconds later, Bruce entered the monitor womb, clothed in his full Batman regalia sans the mask.

„What is it?"

„Di and I are going out, have some fun. Wanna come with?" Diana just shot him a surprised look, but smiled at him nonetheless. Clark just winked at her.

Bruce's lips quirked up the tiniest fraction, but Clark still saw it. „Come on, Bruce! It'll be fun!" There was something in Bruce's eyes, something Clark couldn't identify. Yet.

„As much as I'd like to go," he said eventually, „I have two teenagers to go to."

„You're not even 30."

„Never said they were biologically mine."

„Alright, fair enough," said Clark eventually. He texted his parents he'd be back late, then he re-sent the text to Sarah as well.

Bruce rolled his eyes, „Go, you two. I'll take it over from here." Clark was all but ready to hug the man, but he knew he didn't handle physical contact well. Instead, he just thanked him and clapped him on the shoulder. Bruce still tensed up.

It's a work in progress.

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

Luckily, both Diana and Clark had a change of clothes with them. Clark had it teleported over to Watchtower in case of emergency, and Diana was there so often she basically lived there, even though she had various apartments all over the world, including the Themysciran Embassy in New York. She was a princess, after all.

„So, Di, what's something you've always wanted to see, but never got the chance to?" Clark asked as they were slowly soaring through the skies, not nearly fast enough to break the sound barrier, but fast enough for Diana to feel the wind on her face.

„I saw many beautiful things, Clark. It's the experiences I want. I'd like to go dancing!"

Clark looked at her incredulously. „Like, club dancing?" Diana just nodded.

„You do realize that I'm a minor, right?"

Diana looked him over. Very muscular, very tall. Or, as Etta would call him, ‚tall, dark and handsome.' Diana smiled mischevously. „Don't worry, Kal. You will fit right in." He was still a little hesistant, though. „Everybody needs to have some fun every once in a while! Come on, it will be a new experience for you as well!"

It was this moment where Clark learned that the most powerful woman in the world was also in posession of the most powerful puppy dog eyes in the world, second only to Sarah, apparently. He sighed. „Fine."

Clark was fortunate enough to have the right kind of clothes in the tower – a black t-shirt that fit him tightly around his shoulders and pecs, and a pair of dark, washed black jeans that also fit him very nicely. He still had his dorky glasses, though. And for most likely the same reason as he, Diana had a pair, too. She chose a nightclub in Manhattan, for some reason. The bouncer gave both him and Diana a look-over and let them pass through.

It took a couple of seconds for Clark to get used to all the sensory input in there – the bright lights, the loud noises. Diana seemed to be having similar issues, also she recovered much quicker than him. Either her senses were not as sensitive as his, or she had much more experience with filtering out the bad king of sensory input. Clark made a mental note to ask her about that in the future.

And Diana was right. He had fun. He danced and talked and danced again and drank. Not alcohol, though. Ma would kill him. Sarah probably, too. He had noticed some women _and_ men eyeing him, checking him out. A few even offered to buy him drinks, and while he was certainly flattered, he still had a significant other whom he very much loved. That didn't deter some of them, and Diana had to step in. It was amazing to see the difference between the easy going Diana with puppy dog eyes and protective-and-hella-intimidating Diana with a glare.

His admirers, if he could even call them that, usually scattered immediately after all.

Diana also had a lot of fun. She quickly learned that people in the world of men did not dance the way they do on Themyscira, but she adapted fairly quickly. The music was something she also wasn't used to, but she found it quite refreshing and interesting. Unlike Clark, she did not shy away from drinks, even if they basically had no effect on her.

All in all, it was probably the most fun she's had ever since leaving her home, and she could see that Clark was having fun as well.

That quickly changed, however, when she saw Clark's expression a couple of seconds after making the statement in her mind. Where there was a genuine smile, was now replaced by a murderous look. She sombered immediately and walked over to him through the dancing bodies.

„What's going on, Kal?" she asked, concern creeping into her voice. His eyes looked a little red. Not from crying. He wasn't looking at her, and when she followed his line of vision, she could see that he was looking at a man talking to a pretty girl. „Kal, what's happening?"

„He spiked her drink," he said, and his voice would send a shiver down her spine were she not .. well, her. She was familiar with the term spiking. An act of placing a substance into a drink, more often than not with the intention of then raping the drinker.

Before Clark could do anything, Diana marched over to the man, fisted his hair, and before he could even ask her what she was doing, she slammed his head onto the bar. The young woman next to him flinched, but Diana barely noticed. She leaned down and whispered into the man's ear, „I should castrate you for what you are doing. I should rip your throat off and make you swallow it. But I won't. Instead, I'll let the bartender call the police. What do you say?"

The man quickly nodded, obviously scared shitless. When Diana raised her head, she told the bartender what happened. The bartender immediately called two bouncers, and then the police. When Diana looked over at where the man's potential victim was, she saw Clark hugging her, the girl sobbing into his chest. He must've explained to her what almost happened.

He didn't look as furious as before – his eyes were kind, full of concern and sincerity. His arms were wrapped securely around the young woman. His posture, however, was stiff. He was tense. Angry. It was not a good thing when the most powerful being in the world was angry.

To be honest, even with her own temper, she was glad to have dealt with the would-be-rapist on her own, even if she had wanted to rip his balls off and feed them to him.

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

Clark seemed to have calmed down by the time the police arrived. The bartender calmly asked them to leave the bar and give the statement to the police outside, as to not interrupt the party. Clark started down at him for a couple of seconds, but then sighed and did as he was told.

Diana, the girl, and he gave statements to the police. The girl was pretty shaken up, and when he saw her flinch a bit at the sight of her would-be-rapist as he was led in handcuffs into the police car. Clark saw red for a second. Diana pinched him.

He saw the murder in her eyes as well, but she had more control than he did in this particular situation. Alright, she had a couple of more centuries to perfect her skill, but still. Clark took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes, then looked at Diana, whose arms were wrapped around the girl. He nodded at her, telling her he was in control. She smiled a bit, then looked at the girl.

„You're going to be okay," said Diana gently, as Clark smiled at her. She would be alright, in time. Even if nothing really happened to her, the what-if questions would still be there. But she would be alright.

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

Clark and Diana had both agreed to not mention this to the League. He was going to mention it to Sarah, though. Call him whipped, but they had decided a long time ago (a few days after she found out he was not of Earth), that there would be no more secrets between them.

It was close to three in the morning when he came by Sarah's window, but it was also a Friday. He knew that that little Einstein of his would still be awake, either watching a movie or ... doing some research, to be honest.

And he was right, the lights in her room were on. He slowly descended to her window and gently knocked. She still jumped a bit, and he had to bite back a smile. Black belt, and yet...

When she turned around, her lips curved into a smile automatically, and Clark felt butterflies in his stomach. They had been together for a year, been through a lot of shit together, and yet she still made him, a man strong enough to move planets, weak in the knees. Love was a strange thing.

Still, after seeing the shaken girl (whose name was Eve, apparently), Clark just wanted to see Sarah. To hold her, to be more precise. He could have waited until late morning, but he wanted to see her now, even if she was asleep. He was not creepy. Hopefully.

Sarah quietly opened the window, Ria and Frank being asleep, and gently kissed him on the lips. Clark may have purred a little bit into her mouth. Sarah giggled quietly, and she had to cover her mouth as to not wake up her guardians. Clark had to hold his laughter in as well.

„And what are you doing here at this hour, Mr. Super-Kent?" she asked sweetly, albeit teasingly.

„What, can't an alien just visit his beautiful girlfriend?"

She smiled at him, her eyes crinkling. „That he can, of course," she gestured, „Wanna come it?"

„May I?"

She just rolled her eyes at him, muttering something suspiciously similar to _dork_. Clark snorted. Sarah gave him a look. Clark raised his hands up in surrender.

„You want to cuddle, don't you?"

Clark shrugged. „Maybe?"

Sarah just rolled her eyes affectionately before smiling sweetly at him. „Come here, you," she said, taking his hand and pulling him down onto her bed. He was still in his supersuit. She didn't care. Her guardians knew of his identity anyway.

He was very wide, the bed barely enough for his size, and she used this as an excuse to lay on top of him, her head resting right on his family's crest, over his heart. His slow heartbeat and elevated temperature was something that always calmed her down. He was here, underneath her, solid and alive. She knew he was powerful. Everyone knew that. People admired his power, people feared his power. People admired him, people feared him. She loved him.

„So, don't get me wrong, sweetheart, I know you're a cuddler, but any reason in particular on why you came to me at 3 AM to just cuddle?" she mumbled, not looking up. She sounded both concerned and curious.

Clark just put his arms around her and kissed her hair. „Okay, so.. it all started when Di came to me and asked me whether I wanted her to replace me..."

„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"

It was nearing 1 PM when Ria decided to wake Sarah up. She was eighteen, an adult, yes, but her sleep schedule was fairly screwed up still. Gently knocking, she opened the door to her room, not expecting the sight, but not really surprised, either.

There was her niece, obviously asleep in Clark's arms, if her deep, even breaths had anything to say. Clark was already awake, not needing any sleep, but his eyes were closed. He was still in his supersuit. He raised an arm with a thumb up, indicating he'd wake Sarah up soon.

Ria whispered a quiet ‚okay' before closing the door gently behind her.

Kids.

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 **Thank you so much for reading! I wanted this chapter to be full of Diana/Clark friendship. I ship them very much, but this fic is not SuperWonder, so I decided to at least bring some of their friendship into this. I hope you liked this chapter!**

 **Please, leave a review, it keeps me going! I'm going to need it. Probably.**

 **Thank you very much, and have a nice day!:))**


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